Thank you, Madam Chair.
Good afternoon. We are very happy to be appearing before this committee to provide information on the general context of women's participation in political activities as part of your study on barriers facing women in politics in Canada. Statistics Canada does not produce data specifically on candidate recruitment and selection processes, professional networks and inequalities in terms of professional development opportunities or support to women in politics in Canada.
However, we do have data from the general social survey that illustrate Canadians social behaviours in political activities. Today, we are presenting a gender-based analysis that will look at the representation of women in parliamentary and government positions, their participation in civic and political organizations, as well as their opinions on politics. The majority of the data we are presenting today come from the 2013 general social survey on social identity.
We know that women are under-represented in senior government, legislative, and parliamentary positions in Canada. In this country, women represent 46% of senior government managers and officials, 35% of legislators, and 27% of persons holding seats in national Parliament. However, they do represent 50% of cabinet ministers.
The proportion of women working as senior government managers and officials is consistent with the labour market representation of women, where women overall are still under-represented. In 2015 women represented 48% of the labour force. It should be noted, however, that women's labour market participation is increasing and that women comprised 37% of the labour force in 1976.
To provide more context around the labour force participation of women, we see for women who work that they work on average 5.6 hours per week less than men, and that currently 19% of employed women work part-time, compared to 6% of employed men. The presence and age of the youngest child in the household has a notable effect on the work hours of women but very little effect on those of men. The average weekly work hours of mothers ranged from 34 for those with a child under the age of six, to 36 for those with a child aged 18 to 24. Women who did not have a child under the age of 25 worked the greater numbers of hours per week, with an average of 36.4.
Now that we've provided some context about the labour force participation of women, let's next look at their membership in political parties and organizations.
Women are still less likely than men to be members of a political party or to volunteer for a political party, but instead take on membership in school, neighbourhood, and community groups. Women represented 43% of members of a political party in 2013. About 530 women and 700 men were members of a party that year. This translates to 5% of men being members of a political party in 2013, compared to 4% of women. When broken down by age, it is those in the older age groups of 65 and over who are likely to be members, at 7%, and those in younger age groups of 15 to 54 who are the least likely, at 3%.
Our data show that 320 men, or 2.2% of all men, volunteered for a political party in 2013, compared to 240 women, or 1.6%. Membership in service clubs shows a very similar pattern to membership in political parties, with 7% of men having been members of a service club in 2013, compared to 6% of women. Note, too, that membership in a political party or political group association tends to be much less popular than other types of clubs or organizations.
For example, while 4% of Canadians are members of a political party or a group association, closer to 30% of Canadians are members of sports or recreational organizations, or cultural, educational, or hobby organizations, according to the 2013 general social survey on social identity. Women showed more interest than men in joining a school group, neighbourhood, civic or community association, at 20% versus 15%.
Next, let us look at the different ways in which men and women participate in certain political activities.
While 17% of men reported having attended a public meeting in the past 12 months, only 13% of women did so. Similarly, a higher proportion of men expressed their views on a political or social issue by contacting a newspaper or politician or by expressing views though the Internet.
On the other hand, women are as likely as men to sign a petition and are more likely to boycott or choose a product for ethical reasons.
Other types of political activities, such as participating in a demonstration or a march, wearing badges and T-shirts, displaying lawn signs in support of or in opposition to a political or social cause, or signing a petition on the Internet also showed no difference between the behaviour of men and women.
Could participation in political groups be related to interest in politics? Compared with men, it appears that women may be less interested in politics. Although 24% of men reported being very interested in politics in 2013, only 15% of women said they were. On the other end of the scale, more women than men said they were not very interested, 25% versus 19% of men.
When it comes to voting, women are equally likely as men to vote in federal elections, and they are more likely than men to vote at the provincial or municipal levels. When women do not vote in federal elections, they give slightly different reasons from those given by men for not doing so. Most notably in 2013, 13% of women said they did not vote because they were not informed on issues, compared with 7% of men. Women are also less likely than men to search for information on political issues.
Participation in political activities is positively associated with education and income group. More educated women and men, and women and men with higher incomes, are more likely to have positions in government and to undertake civic and political activities.
In closing, when we look at community engagement and political activity through a gender-based analysis, we see differences in the political participation of women and men, where women are less likely than men to be members of a political party.
Women participate in their community in other ways. For example, they are more likely than men to join school groups, neighbourhood associations, citizens' organizations and community groups. Although women are less likely than men to attend public meetings or express their opinion openly, they sign petitions and participate in other political activities just as often as men. In general, however, fewer women say that they are interested in political issues.
Data for the next cycle of the general social survey on social identity will be collected in 2020. That will enable us to examine changes over time in attitudes and behaviours relative to political participation.
Thank you for giving us an opportunity to present our data in your study. My colleagues, Anna Kemeny and Jennifer Kaddatz, and I will gladly answer your questions.
