Women in London politics: older, whiter, richer than average

They're older, whiter, richer and better educated than the average Londoner. 

They're also Christian, straight and born in Canada. 

Those are the findings of the city's Diverse Voices for Change census, which investigated the diversity of women who make up the inner workings of local government in London.

"We wanted to see who currently participates in advisory committees and governance bodies and we ran a series of focus groups with people who were and were not involved in local government to understand why they're involved, or why they aren't," said Kate Graham, London's director of community and economic innovation.

Limited diversity limits opportunities

The census found that women are underrepresented on the governance bodies of the city's agencies, boards and commissions, but are not underrepresented on advisory committees. The city made an effort to take gender into consideration when appointing citizens to committees. 

Women from diverse backgrounds are underrepresented on both counts, with only two per cent of census responders from diverse backgrounds, compared to eight per cent in London as a whole. 

The census also found: 

• No one who was Indigenous answered the survey, and only two per cent identified as homosexual
• Most of the women in local government had either a university graduate or post-graduate degree
• Nearly half were aged 60 to 64 years old. Only six per cent of London's population fits in this age bracket 
• 93.4 per cent were born in Canada, and 70 per cent were Christian

Based on those findings, the women who sit on the city's advisory committees and governance bodies "do not adequately represent the London community," the census concluded. 

"The limited diversity of these groups limits opportunities for women from diverse backgrounds to obtain experience which can lead to other forms of participation in local government." 

'Remove those barriers'

A report going before the city's corporate services committee about the Diverse Voices for Change census recommends using plain language on application forms and changing the times of meetings to make it easier for a variety of women to participate. 

"What the census told us is that we don't have the full participation of Londoners," said Graham. "We know that not every Londoner is going to participate, but we used focus groups to determine how we can make more women participate." 

Meeting times for boards and committees are often at 7 p.m., a time when many women are getting kids to bed, for example, Graham said. 

"If we want to remove those barriers, when we're setting up recruitment and meeting times, we need to be thinking through a diversity lens," she said. 

Boards and commissions 'a stepping stone'

The census was part of a project by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. Five cities, including London, are looking at increasing diversity in their municipal political ranks.

The census looked at council-appointed commissions and advisory committees, everything from the library, London Hydro and LTC boards to the cycling and housing advisory committees. 

"It's one way that citizens have input on municipal government and their community, so if they're not around those tables to represent their communities and their voices, that's a problem," said Shawna Lewkowitz, founder of London's Women in Politics, which was part of putting together the census. 

"From a Women in Politics perspective, we see the boards and commissions as one possible stepping stone to being involved in other poltitics, and it's a way to understand the way municipal government works."