We Need More Women in Local Government

Written by Sarah Emms-Pilon, former Chair of Women & Politics

With the passing of another election season, you’re likely glad to see intersections and lawns free of candidate signs, and fewer flyers in your mailbox. But you probably haven’t stopped to think much about the makeup of the City Council, and what that means for our community.

In London, our newly elected council has only 33% of councillors who identify as women. That’s an improvement from 2018, which had about 25% women members. And, it’s consistent with representation across Canada, where about 27%  of local government members are women.

But change isn’t happening fast enough. If we have any chance of meeting UN Sustainable Development Goal #5: Gender equality for women and girls by 2030, then we must fight for equal representation in government, including at the local level. And we can accelerate that change right here in London.

How do we get more women elected? To put it simply, we need more women to choose to be candidates. Then, we need to vote for them in elections. But how do we get more women to run? It starts with more women participating in civic life.

Women are often discouraged or prevented from engaging in local decision-making due to systemic barriers such as access to resources, language, media bias, discrimination, family responsibilities, and social isolation. Many women, particularly marginalized women, do not see the issues they care about reflected in political and civic life and therefore don't want to participate. 

Creating entry points into civic participation for women and gender-diverse folks is key to addressing this disconnect. Whether it’s participating in community events, neighbourhood associations, school councils, nonprofit boards, or advisory committees, there are so many ways for women to engage in the community and share their ideas. And when they do, we need to be there to support their ideas and amplify their voices. 

That’s some of the most important work we can do to increase gender equality: lift women up, and encourage them along their journey.

Over the past 8 years, I’ve helped create civic and political engagement workshops, organized campaign schools, supported all candidate meetings, and volunteered on local campaigns. And every time I talk to women about running for office, I hear the same questions: Who will support me? Who will donate to my campaign? How do I convince people to vote for me?

It’s natural to ask these types of questions, but the answer is that women already have the answers - they just don’t recognize them.

After engaging in community life, women have already grown their networks, built their leadership skills, and demonstrated that they have the power to create positive change. And it’s our duty to see how civic participation translates into strong skill-building for candidates, and to value that experience just as much as we value corporate or educational experience. We have to choose to see candidates differently, even if their experience looks different from others. Then, we have to vote for them.

We have four more years until our next municipal election - how will you help more women and gender-diverse folks get involved in civic life, and how will you help them get elected in 2026?