Political gender gap

Toronto Star Dec. 12, 2006. 01:00 AM
New Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion, in a bid to see more women in Parliament, says he will hand-pick women candidates to run in selected ridings across Canada in the next election.

Women comprise half the Canadian population, yet they represent only 20.7 per cent of the current members in the House of Commons. The Liberals have just 21 women MPs, a fifth of their 102-member caucus, while the governing Conservatives have only 14 women among their 124 MPs, or 11 per cent.