Bruce Strachan
Right Side Up
Is the NDP gender equity policy designer democracy at its worst, or the laughable outcome of unintended consequences?
It's both. More troublesome, it's a demeaning sop to mediocrity. To women interested in the NDP it says don't worry your pretty little head over fighting it out with the men; we'll fix the rules in your favour.
In case you hadn't heard, the provincial NDP has its knickers in a knot over gender equity, particularly as it applies to the Apr. 17 leadership race.
The party constitution says one of the three top party officials, the leader, the party president and the treasurer, must be a woman.
This worked well when Carole James was party leader. The party president is former NDP MLA Moe Sihota and Bob Smits is the party treasurer. But with James forced out and no women running in the upcoming leadership race, one of the men has to go. This means the party has to find a token female replacement for either Sihota or Smits. Rumour has it Smits will go. Wrong choice, but who am I to stand in the way of the New Democrat's self-inflicted misfortunes.
It's curious that a party so focused on equality would bend its principles to favour one person over another. The party also decreed that one third of the ridings in the 2009 provincial election would be set aside for women.
The gender equity rules seem even more curious, when you realize that the real female stars of the NDP have made it all on their own. Indeed, the political career of Carole James is one of fighting it out quite successfully with the men. Prior to winning a provincial seat, James was a school trustee with the Greater Victoria School Board and served a record-setting five terms as president of the British Columbia School Trustees Association. A political career untainted by the questionable benefits of gender-preference tokenism.
Likewise, former local MLA Lois Boone - who kicked my political butt in 1991 - served as a school trustee, then MLA, then again on school board without any preferential treatment.
Indeed, the NDP roster of political headliners is filled with notable women who made it on their own. Consider the careers of Rosemary Brown PC, OC, OBC, or Alexa McDonough OC, and Audrey McLaughlin PC. OC.
More currently, look at the political record of Joy MacPhail, who almost single-handily, had the 77-member Gordon Campbell majority in knots for four years?
Most troublesome from a democratic point of view in any gender-bias or affirmative-action intervention is the question of competence. As an example, the NDP have to dump one man from their executive to accommodate their constitution. And I'm sure the women's libbers and bra-burning feminists are all over themselves on this one.
But what if the tables were turned? If you accept the notion that there are a lot of capable women involved in politics - and I do - what would the NDP do if three women were elected to the top executive positions? Dump one of them for a man? Not too likely.
To underscore the counter-productive nature of the New Democrat's gender bias, the problem exists because no women are currently running for the NDP leadership.
While over in the Liberal race, where all candidates are equal, we see Dr. Moira Stilwell and former MLA Christy Clark battling it out with the men.
No preferential treatment, no constitutional coddling, just tough - may the most capable candidate win - politics.
Could it be that potential women candidates for the NDP, women who want to be recognized for their own strengths and not their gender, understand the inequality of contrived equality?
