XX vs. XY

In today's SP (Dec. 20/10) MLA Chartier raises the question of the lack of female candidates for elected office. Too bad the question wasn't publicly asked prior to the majority of candidates being nominated for the next provincial election.

I can think of a couple of reasons off the top why women do not seek public office.

I suspect that most, but not all, women feel uneasy about leaving their families for the extended periods of time necessary to perform public service. Although today's husbands/fathers tend to share household and parenting duties, not many are willing to give up and/or slow down their own careers to fulfill the role of mainstay parent while their significant other takes a leave of absence.

Many qualified women have spent decades slamming their heads against the glass ceiling trying to increase their presence in the professional and business world. They have worked long and hard to attain career positions and are unwilling to jeopardize that work, or their futures, for a stint in public service. Although corporate employers may be required to hold career positions for an indeterminate length of time while an employee runs for public office, these women know they will not be considered for future advancement if they have expressed an interest in another line of work.

I don't know how you fix this problem. Appointing female candidates doesn't work as witnessed by Chretien's efforts with Georgette Sheridan. Although she won one election on a Liberal sweep that appointment dogged her throughout her term and came back to bite her on the second go round.

Maybe bright women are just smart enough to stay out of the increasingly comedic debacle billed as government.