Thank you to our witnesses for excellent and passionate presentations.
I'm going to pick up on a line of questioning to earlier witnesses. I led a consultation this summer on engaging men and boys in advancing gender equality. All of us would agree that we all need to be involved in advancing gender equality: men, women, boys, girls, people of all genders. I learned some really great things travelling from coast to coast to just about coast. I got up to Yellowknife but didn't get to Nunavut, so I apologize. We will get there, though.
We had some great examples of men and boys stepping up to advance gender equality. For instance, the banks had some very important leadership by CEOs. All of the banks are led by men in very powerful positions, but through their leadership they have been systematically advancing women. Many women occupy the VP spots and, I have no doubt, will be sitting in the C suite in not too long, at least in some of those institutions. In the workplace, the union movement had men participating in “Don't be a bystander” campaigns reducing toxicity in workplaces. We had football teams, such as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the BC Lions, participating in school programs to be good role models for young men in how to reduce many of the things that all of you have talked about.
As we heard earlier, the political landscape is dominated by men: 27% of parliamentarians are women, and the rest are men. I think the statistics are actually worse at the municipal level. I am a former city councillor. I ran for mayor but wasn't successful. I think it's 12% women. The average is around 20%, so it's below that.
I'd like an opinion from all of you. How can men in leadership positions, who do occupy positions of power, step up and change Canadian politics, as well as provincial and municipal politics?