N.B. needs more female MLAs: group

A group in New Brunswick is challenging political parties to put forward more female candidates in the fall provincial election.

Women's participation in politics in New Brunswick is among the lowest in the country, said Lisa Merrithew, who heads the New Brunswick chapter of Equal Voice, a non-profit group dedicated to increasing the presence of women at all levels of political office in Canada.

"We are actually ranked last in terms of the provinces in terms of female representation at the provincial level," she said.

"Women make up half the population in New Brunswick, yet only 11 per cent of the province's MLAs are women."

The regional head of Equal Voice is challenging each party to put forward more female candidates for the Sept. 27 vote than they did in the last provincial election.

Political training session planned

Merrithew's group is holding a training session in Moncton next month for women who are involved in politics or considering a career in politics. It's meant to take them through the steps of the political process.

She said there's plenty of evidence that women are becoming more involved in their communities and are taking part in public debates. But it's tough to convince those women to take the plunge into federal or provincial politics, Merrithew said.

"The tone of the debate and the combative nature of politics ... somehow it seems to have gotten more personal, and I think more women are taking a look at that and saying 'No thanks, that's not for me'," she said.

The challenge for parties, Merrithew says, is not to just come up with the right numbers of female candidates but to formulate a strategy on how to engage more women in the political process.