Rural areas are the daunting frontier for women with dreams of getting elected in Canada, according to new, in-depth research.Louise Carbert, of Dalhousie University in Halifax, has been systematically analyzing how female politicians are faring in Canada's urban-rural divide. Carbert's work has been published in Sylvia Bashevkin's new book, Opening Doors Wider: Women's Political Engagement in Canada. Carbert's main – and sobering – finding is that women are twice as likely to get elected in Canada if they come from urban areas. In 2008, women were elected in 31 per cent of the most densely populated areas of Canada, compared to 14 per cent in rural districts.
"This ratio has persisted over several decades despite substantial increases in the number of women elected overall," Carbert's study says.
So if you're serious about upping the numbers of women in Canadian legislatures, she says, you have to get out of the cities, and into the country.
The comments at the end of the article are interesting, are rural women opting out, or are they not getting elected?
Going to have browse around Pundit's Guide looking a federal rural ridings to see if there is some type of pattern emerging in federal politics.
It may be tough though, as so many rural ridings are intertwined with portions of urban ones.
My riding for example is partially urban and rural, at both provincial and federal levels, and it has women representatives in both.