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March 2004
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Project Seeks Women's Participation February 19, 2004 - Municipal governments are in the best position to involve women, not just as elected officials but as private citizens who wish to be part of the public process that informs and influences local decisions and decisions makers. Women are significantly under represented in municipal government and no official policies exist in Thunder Bay to ensure their concerns are addressed. Increasing Women’s Participation in Municipal Consultation Processes is a project designed to ask women why is this happening and how can it be changed? We hope to contribute to changing the present practices and policies so that Canadian women can be involved in the processes that affect their lives. Six cities were chosen from across Canada to participate in participatory action research. The Northwestern Ontario Women’s Centre applied on behalf of the City of Thunder Bay and was chosen as one of the six sites. Each site has established a local advisory committee. Presently, there are 8 women on the local advisory committee, these women have diverse backgrounds and bring different political experiences and approaches to guiding this work. We will be holding a variety of focus groups to talk to local women about their concerns regarding participation in municipal matters. The Women’s Centre will also be holding a general focus group for local women to express their opinions. We will be asking the questions: 1. What form of consultation works for them? 2. What are their issues? How do they differ from the current municipal agenda? 3. How do they view municipal government? The discussion generated by these questions will be included in a report for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and as part of a presentation to Council. If you are interested in attending a focus group on March 16 at 7:00p.m., or if you are part of a group of women that would like to be a focus group, please contact Kim at the Northwestern Ontario Women’s Centre at 345-7802. |