Thank you, Madam Chair.
Recent events have made me realize that being a woman, and especially a small woman, has had more repercussions that I would have thought, at several points in my life.
I'm thinking in particular of a recent event, a public speaking contest where I had worked very hard to win first place. The comments that I received after the contest surprised me. People told me that I had really surprised them. They didn't think that a small person like me would have such a strong voice. This didn't bother me. The comments weren't bad. In the end, why do people make those comments? The reason is that the characteristics of a good speech aren't associated with small women like me. A powerful voice, strength and greatness are demonstrated in speeches.
This just confirmed the importance of destroying stereotypes, which are especially blatant in politics. Inequalities are strongly perpetuated by stereotypes. The more intense the socialization process, the stronger the stereotype. This issue is addressed in paragraph 5(a) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, or CEDAW, which condemns the perpetuation of these stereotypes.
One issue is that politics was exclusive to men for such a long. As a result, the stereotypes are very strong. We don't need to look very far to see that Canada has never elected a woman prime minister. In Quebec and the United States, there have been very few. In addition, few women are leaders of political parties running for election, for example. How can a woman have aspirations in a field built so heavily on male stereotypes?
Lastly, my message is that parity is still important in politics. Above all, I want to point out that parity comes from general recommendation no. 5 of the CEDAW, which proposes temporary special measures. This just means that parity is a temporary measure to enable women to infiltrate decision-making institutions. We've reached a point where so many competent people have doctorates, training and experience. These people are women as well as men. Experience is no longer an issue. Stereotypes must be dismantled during the hiring and selection process. I'm excited to see more women in positions of power.
I'll conclude with an observation by Simone de Beauvoir. Women's rights are not and will never be permanently acquired.
Thank you.