A survey of 21 women who served as Quebec politicians found the main reason they left was not sexism, work-family balance or double standards.
Women are leaving Quebec politics not because of sexism or double standards or a lack of work-family balance, but because they feel underused in the process of government, according to a survey of 21 women who served in public life.
The most common message conveyed by the interviews was that women feel they are no more than “potted plants” (plante verte) in the political process, a description that echoes a complaint made by former CAQ-turned-Conservative MNA Claire Samson.
According to Dumas, Samson — who was outraged she was obliged to pose pre-written questions during legislative commissions — “illustrates perfectly the frustration provoked by the feeling one is playing a ceremonial role.”
“(Women) leaving politics … had the impression their skills were not recognized and they had no other role than to show up (at the legislature) to ensure a quorum … in other words, play the role of ‘potted plant’,” wrote Dumas.
“We ask them to read lines (written by the communications staff) to journalists, to vote on proposed laws they have not had time to read and on which they were in any event not asked their opinion and provide them with questions to read in legislative commissions,” he said.
While this frustration is shared by male MNAs, it seems insufficient to cause them to leave, Dumas said.
He notes that nearly two-thirds of the MNAs who did not seek another term in the 2022 general election were women, even though they accounted for 44 per cent of seats in the National Assembly when the legislature was dissolved.
“Men are more numerous to make politics a career,” he said. “In the end, (women) ask: ‘Why are we making these sacrifices? Why are we doing this?’.”
While Dumas said that while his interviews determined many reasons it is difficult for women to remain in politics: sexism, micro-aggressions, double standards in the media and work-family balance “none of these were seen as deciding factors.”
“It’s when they feel they cannot play their role or that role could be occupied by someone else with making a difference that they decide to leave,” he said.
Former Parti Québécois MNA Marie Malavoy, now a member of the Cercle des ex-parlementaires, believes the survey should spark an examination of the situation.
“We have a problem here,” she said. “We’ve worked for years to attract women to politics. … But if they enter and then leave, we’re no further ahead.”
In 2022, government House Leader Simon Jolin-Barrette pledged a legislative reform to enhance the role of an MNA. However discussions with other the political parties at the National Assembly on how to carry out those changes have yet to occur.