“Imagine a woman who showed up [to a presidential debate] unprepared…interrupting her opponent 70 times. Let’s further imagine that she’s had five kids by three men, was a repeated adulterer, had multiple bankruptcies, paid zero federal taxes and rooted for the housing crisis in which many thousands of families lost their homes. Wait … there’s more: she has never held any elected office in her life.”
The above quote is attached to an image of Donald Trump and serves as a clear demonstration of the sexist double standard that continues to exist for women in politics, media or attempting to move up the corporate ladder. This year, we have seen a variety of situations where well qualified and successful women had their efforts to break through the glass ceiling shattered by society’s ever pressing need for the ‘perfect woman’.
The latest example of this double standard is the Bank of Canada recently snubbing of Nellie McClung as a candidate for the first Canadian woman on our currency. Ms. McClung, the Alberta suffragette was left of the Bank of Canada’s list despite votes favouring her in an online polling survey conducted by Angus Reid.
Ms. McClung was a key figure in securing the women’s right to vote in Manitoba in 1916, making the province the first Canadian jurisdiction to enact such a measure. Additionally, McClung was a feminist who fought to extend suffrage to women and was one of the Famous Five, a group of women that launched a legal challenge to have women recognized as people under Canadian law.
Despite her remarkable accomplishments in the advancement of women’s issues, Ms. McClung did not meet the Bank of Canada’s standards for the ‘perfect woman’. Ms. McClung was an outspoken activist for women’s political rights and had a hand in shaping Canada’s future for all women.
A more recent example seen by female candidates seeking leadership with a prominent political party in Alberta had one woman coming forward to detail the targeted gender-based attacks and harassment she faced during her campaign, most of which she described as ‘filth’. The barrage of hateful and sexist comments is nothing new for women looking to enter the political arena. Women deserve to run for political office without fear of facing sexual and often violent harassment online or in person.
Gender stereotypes have long impacted women’s leadership opportunities; men are congratulated for their ability to give orders and lead but women communicating, in the same way, are labelled assertive, dominating, aggressive and overbearing. We have a certain, gender-specific type of behaviour that expects women to be feminine; but not too feminine and masculine; but not too masculine. We set standards that women can only ever meet so long as they refrain from having too many real opinions that may set them up for failure. Men, rarely face the level of criticism a woman would in similar circumstances.
We need to actively work to end the double standard women face and stop reinforcing this notion of ‘perfect’. At YW Calgary, we are proud to advocate for and with women on issues related to women’s equity. Breaking the glass ceiling and working to create a world where we base decisions on merit, not on likeability or gender.
