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The Thunder Bay and District Labour Council sponsored their first-ever forum for women and equity groups to encourage more involvement in politics. The forum was held at the Lakehead Labour Centre on Saturday with around 35 women attending. “We‘re hosting this to show women they can get more involved in any kind of political field, from running for councils to being part of a campaign team,” said Melanie Kelso, president of the Thunder Bay Labour Council. “We still see an imbalance of men and women in councils and political offices, but their are more women trying for those positions.” To give a broad range of experiences, four guests were invited to share their insights – Schreiber Mayor Madge Richardson, Thunder Bay councillor for Current River Andrew Foulds, Lakehead Public School Board trustee George Saarinen and Canadian Labour Congress representative Stephanie Levesque. One of the toughest challenges for women seeking office is breaking tradition, said Richardson. She became the first female mayor of Schreiber in 2006. “I am the first woman to be mayor in its 125-year history,” she said. “The first thing I had to adapt to was the culture of decision-making the previous mayor had left behind and try to work it to my advantage. People were congratulating me and saying they were happy to see a woman in office, but it‘s still very much an old-boys club in municipal politics.” She also gave advice on how to fundraise, communicate, navigate paperwork and run a campaign. Richardson said changes are happening in smaller communities like Schreiber. Currently, three of five council seats are occupied by women. “I find a lot of women do want to try for political seats, they just don‘t know the process,” Richardson said. “I think forums like this are wonderful. Women can learn from themselves and the experienced how to figure out what route they want to take and what steps they need to be successful.” Top of Page |
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September 2, 2010, 8:22 am |