Nicole McMahon, University of Calgary
Individuals who run for elected office face a variety of barriers depending on their gender, race, sexual orientation, among other identities. One identity that is often overlooked is that of being a parent. Parents of young children are less likely to run for office due to the need to balance the time commitment of being an elected representative with their responsibilities as a parent. This is particularly true for women because they tend to be the primary caregivers for young children. Parental leave policies for elected representatives, along with other family-friendly initiatives that facilitate work-life balance, are critical for addressing some of these barriers. These policies not only enable elected officials to fulfill their parental responsibilities but also contribute to broader goals of inclusion by making political careers more accessible to a diverse group of individuals.
Some municipalities in Canada have been discussing how to make city council more “family friendly” for elected representatives. The 2023 Canadian Municipal Barometer asked elected officials about which family friendly initiatives exist in their municipality and how well supported they are among the local politicians.
To understand how well supported “family-friendly” are among local politicians, I use data from the Canadian Municipal Barometer (CMB) in 2023. Local politicians were asked to share their personal support for 6 family-friendly initiatives, regardless of whether their municipality had the policies in place:
Respondents were asked to select one of the following responses to indicate their support for the initiative: “Strongly oppose”, “Somewhat oppose”, “Somewhat support”, “Strongly support”, or “Don’t know.” The following figures illustrate the support for each initiative listed above, by gender of the respondent.
Figure 1: Support for Members of Council Taking Parental Leave
Figure 1 illustrates the support for Policy 1: “Allow members of council to take parental leave when they have a new baby” by gender of the respondent. The black bars show responses from men and the blue bar shows responses from women. The x-axis indicates the level of support, and the y-axis shows the percentage of respondents who selected each option (the exact percentages are above each bar).
The overwhelming majority of local politicians, regardless of gender, support members of council taking parental leave when they have had a new baby. There is a small percentage of people who oppose allowing members of council to take parental leave. Around 14% of men strongly oppose or somewhat oppose parental leave and around 7.6% of women oppose it.
Figure 2: Support for Designating a Colleague to Vote on their Behalf
Figure 2 illustrates the support for Policy 2: “Allow members of council on parental leave to designate a colleague to vote on their behalf” by gender of the respondent. The black bars show responses from men and the blue bar shows responses from women. The x-axis indicates the level of support, and the y-axis shows the percentage of respondents who selected each option (the exact percentages are above each bar).
Unlike support for parental leave, designating a colleague to vote on a member’s behalf when they are on parental leave is not well supported. The majority of men (60%) and a near majority of women (45%) of women either strongly oppose or somewhat oppose designating a colleague to vote on a member’s behalf. However, there is a noticeable gender difference when it comes to supporting the initiative. The women respondents were much more likely to say they support designating a colleague to vote on a member’s behalf.
Figure 3: Support for Voting Remotely while on Parental Leave
Figure 3 illustrates the support for Policy 3: “Allow members of council on parental leave to vote remotely” by gender of the respondent. The black bars show responses from men and the blue bar shows responses from women. The x-axis indicates the level of support, and the y-axis shows the percentage of respondents who selected each option (the exact percentages are above each bar).
The figure shows significant support for remote voting among council members on parental leave, in contrast with low support for designating a colleague to vote on their behalf. Specifically, 65% of women and 56% of men strongly support the idea of remote voting. Opposition to remote voting is minimal, with 5.7% of women and 7.4% of men strongly opposing or somewhat opposing it.
Figure 4: Support for Members of Council to Bringing Children (under 12 months) into Council
Figure 4 illustrates the support for Policy 4: “Allow members of council to bring young children (under 12 months) into council with them” by gender of the respondent. The black bars show responses from men and the blue bar shows responses from women. The x-axis indicates the level of support, and the y-axis shows the percentage of respondents who selected each option (the exact percentages are above each bar).
There is mixed support for bringing children under 12 months into council. A higher percentage of men (20%) strongly oppose the initiative compared to women (11.2%). There is a large gender gap in the strongly support category with nearly half of the women respondents strongly supporting the initiative, while only about a quarter of men respondents support the initiative.
Figure 5: Support for Allowing Members of Council to Breastfeed in the Chamber
Figure 5 illustrates the support for Policy 5: “Allow members of council to breastfeed in the chamber” by gender of the respondent. The black bars show responses from men and the blue bar shows responses from women. The x-axis indicates the level of support, and the y-axis shows the percentage of respondents who selected each option (the exact percentages are above each bar).
The data shows mixed support for breastfeeding in the chamber. A higher percentage of men (23.7%) strongly or somewhat oppose the initiative compared to women (15.5%). Support for the initiative is higher among women. Strong support is notably higher among women, with 52.3% strongly supporting the initiative compared to 35.8% of men.
Figure 6: Support for free, flexible (drop-in) childcare to members with pre-school aged children
Figure 6 illustrates the support for Policy 6: “Provide free, flexible (drop-in) childcare to members with pre-school aged children” by gender of the respondent. The black bars show responses from men and the blue bar shows responses from women. The x-axis indicates the level of support, and the y-axis shows the percentage of respondents who selected each option (the exact percentages are above each bar).
Similar to other “family-friendly” initiatives, the majority of respondents, regardless of gender, support an initiative for free childcare for pre-school aged children. Strong support is higher for women, while more men somewhat support the initiative. However, there is a noticeable number of people who oppose the initiative. Around 25% of men oppose the initiative and 17% of women.
The data from the 2023 Canadian Municipal Barometer reveals a fairly consistent gender gap in local politician attitudes toward various family-friendly policies and initiatives in their municipalities. Women generally show higher levels of support for these policies compared to men. This could be an indication that women may be more attuned to the challenges of balancing professional responsibilities with family responsibilities, reflecting broader societal views on gender roles and family responsibilities. However, many of the initiatives were relatively well supported, regardless of gender. The notable outlier in support is that the majority of respondents were very much against designating a colleague to vote on their behalf while on parental leave.
It is important to consider that there are numerous factors that go into the different levels of support for family friendly policies at the local level. For instance, the size of a municipality and the specific roles that council has may change a respondent’s view of how important these initiatives are for their municipality. It would also be beneficial to explore how personal experiences with parenthood in general and parenthood while serving as an elected representative influence attitudes towards these policies.
