Not just for men: bringing the female voice to city hall

Something stands out when you go to an Edmonton city council meeting.

There are 13 people on council,and 12of them are men.

Only Ward 2 Coun. Bev Esslinger stops the room from being a version of an upscale man cave.

That's something city council wants to change.

A project called Opening the Potential started in Septemberto encourage more women from all cultural backgroundsto run for city council.

"I believe council should reflect the community and in our community that's 50 per cent men and 50 per cent women," Esslinger says.

"The whole reality is if we want to encourage more women to run, we need to be willing to reach out and help them."

Opening the Potential began as a pilot project in 2011 and operated for three years. It was evaluated in 2015 and then revamped and relaunched for 2016-17.

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More than 80 women applied to be part of the new project.

That number had to be reduced to 56 because there just weren't enough resources to deal with a group that size.

Learning what city council does

The women meet once a month for three hours at city hall to listen to a variety of speakers.

"They learn all the aspects of what a city councillor/mayor does how to develop policy, they learn about media relations, we have speakers who talk about how to run a campaign, how to get volunteers for a campaign,"Esslingersaid.

There are also opportunitiesfor the women in the program tomeet councillors and the mayor.

Seven councillors and Mayor Don Ivesoncame out to a meeting in December, Esslinger said.

"It was kind of like a speed dating. We went to small tables and went throughout the whole group of women and they could ask whatever they wanted or needed to know about politics."

These potential city councillors also get homework, such as attending a council or committee meeting.

"I was so pleased when I went to the room the first time to welcome everyone and to see a cross-section of women from all ages, all cultures, all backgrounds," said Esslinger. "It was just a great mix of people."

Diversity benefits decision-making process

Keren Tang is one of the members of the group. She was born in China but has lived most of her life in Canada.

She moved to Edmonton from Montreal 4years ago.

Tang has already filed her papers to run for city council in Ward 11 in the Oct. 16 municipal election.

"Ultimately I want to be able to contribute to this movement of women in politics," she said. "We know if we want more women elected, we need more women running."

Tang said she's learned a lot at the meetings and not just from the speakers and experts.

"For me, one of the most valuable things is not just the education but also the network that's emerging from the program," she said. "I see a lot of young women being part of this program. I think that's really encouraging. There's opportunity for mentorship, for peer support, for just a lot of positive influences."

Mayor wants more women on council

She believes her experiences and backgroundwould bring a greater range of voices to city council

"That would just in general benefit the decision-making process because we're bringing different kinds of perspectives, different kinds of experiences to the table, " she said.

Iveson is all in favour of getting different voices at the council table.

"Edmonton used to be a leader on this. At one point, when Jan Reimer was mayor, council was split 50/50, " he said."We've fallen considerably from that. Our hope is that at this next election we're going to see a lot more women running."

That's something Tang is hoping to remedy with her council bid.

"Edmonton is a place with a lot of opportunities," she said. "It's a place where everyday Edmontonians can have an impact on the city we're living in."

nola.keeler@cbc.ca

@nolakeelerCBC