Gender Equalityin the City of Edmonton Government

TEAM DOUBLE RUN

Allie Quigley, John Chmilar, Nicholas Vankka, Nitya Khetarpal

EdmontonMayors

since 1850

CurrentState ofGenderEquality inEdmonton

Current number of

female city councillors

Current number of

female provincial

representatives

GENDER EQUALITY IN THE CITY OF EDMONTONGOVERNMENT

What are the most effective ways toencourage women’s politicalparticipation in contexts of resistance togender inequality?

SDG GOAL

GENDER EQUALITY IN THE CITY OF EDMONTONGOVERNMENT

We define political participation as:

Running for positions of political power inthe City of Edmonton government

ResearchProcess

Academic Search

Complete (34 results)

Gale One File (66 results)

Initial Rapid Review

Two Databases:

Second Review

Two Databases

Education Multi-Database Search

(11 results)

Academic Search Complete-

Focused search on Imposter

Syndrome (6 results)

Two rounds

GENDER EQUALITY IN THE CITY OF EDMONTONGOVERNMENT

Interviews withEdmonton CityCouncillors

Bev Esslinger

Imposter Syndrome

Lack of family and financial support

Need a cultural shift that recognizes the

value of female role models

Sarah Hamilton

Main takeaways

GENDER EQUALITY IN THE CITY OF EDMONTONGOVERNMENT

""every time you are a woman in politics

you will get hate...regardless of

eloquence"

GENDER EQUALITY IN THE CITY OF EDMONTONGOVERNMENT

GENDER EQUALITY IN THE CITY OF EDMONTONGOVERNMENT

Promotinggenderequality inpoliticsTargeting root causes:

Reduce instances of imposter syndrome

Increased financial support for campaigns

Better family support

Cultural shifts that value female voices andcontributions

GENDER EQUALITY IN THE CITY OF EDMONTONGOVERNMENT

ImposterSyndrome

GENDER EQUALITY IN THE CITY OF EDMONTONGOVERNMENT

"People with impostor syndrome struggle with accuratelyattributing their performance to their actual competence (i.e., theyattribute successes to external factors such as luck or receivinghelp from others and attribute setbacks as evidence of theirprofessional inadequacy)" (Bravata et al. 2019)

Can we target impostersyndrome from an early age

so that more women areencouraged to run for

politics later in life?

GENDER EQUALITY IN THE CITY OF EDMONTONGOVERNMENT

Girls take overCity Hall

Classroom Presentations

successful female leaders and politicianscome to classrooms and hold mentorshipmeetings with young girls

develop a relationship with strong femaleleads

skills development

City Hall Fieldtrips

girls from across Edmonton can cometo City Hall and actually see femalepoliticians in action

actively exercise skills learned inclassrooms

once a year, PD days

GENDER EQUALITY IN THE CITY OF EDMONTONGOVERNMENT

EducationPrograms

Imposter

Syndrome

Self-

Esteem

Having a strong sense of

confidence helps to mitigate

instances of imposter syndrome

later in life

Build self-esteem and

confidence though skills

development (ie debating)

GENDER EQUALITY IN THE CITY OF EDMONTONGOVERNMENT

Can Our Idea Make aDifference?

Women claim to not pursue top leadership roles out of choice

Need to intentionally spend time developing young girls as leaders at an early age to encourage

them to take on leadership roles in adulthood

"Findings suggest that additional efforts from educators, guidance counsellors, and school

administrators can make a difference. For teachers, recognizing that middle school boys and girls

understand the gendered landscape is vital"

Women did not experience imposter syndrome when they had strong role models

Having strong role models, supports, and other women around helps to mitigate imposter

syndrome, set goals, and gain confidence.

Hufford, et al. (2017).

Shapiro et. al. (2015).

Sandford (2015)

GENDER EQUALITY IN THE CITY OF EDMONTONGOVERNMENT

What & Who is

Involved?

Funding and resources to develop and

maintain the curriculum

Time set aside for mentorship sessions

EXTERNAL FACTOR: support of political

parties and environment

Support Factors

Willing and engaged teachers,

principals, and students

Willing and engaged political role

models and successful female leaders

Supportive parents and families

Stakeholders

GENDER EQUALITY IN THE CITY OF EDMONTONGOVERNMENT

A PhasedApproach

Stage 3: Girls take-over City Hall

Girls from grades 6 and 9 can sign up to have a special day at

City Hall, on PD days, to see female political politicians in action.

Stage 1: Classroom presentations

Female politicians and leaders visit a limited number grade 6

classrooms and give presentations to women.

GENDER EQUALITY IN THE CITY OF EDMONTONGOVERNMENT

Stage 2: Classroom presentations

Expanded version of stage 1, more classrooms, visit grade 9

classrooms as well

More confident women in

all careers

More political science and

leadership related female

university students

Reduced instances of

imposter syndrome

Young students are more

aware of female

politicians

Increased female

participation in

challenging programs

and in their classrooms.

Short and Medium termoutcomes

MEDIUM TERMSHORT TERM

Signs of progress

GENDER EQUALITY IN THE CITY OF EDMONTONGOVERNMENT

Improve confidence at a youngage to combat imposter syndrome

Decreased ImposterSyndrome

More confident women= can fightagainst our cultural environment

that does not value the voices andexpertise of women

Cultural Shift

Long termoutcomes

GENDER EQUALITY IN THE CITY OF EDMONTONGOVERNMENT

Sarah Hamilton

"The end goal is not just about getting women torun for politics... it's about women in leadership;

it's about confidence in pursuing careers thathaven't been female dominated in the past"

How will wemeasureprogress?

Written surveys

Increased female

participation in school

GENDER EQUALITY IN THE CITY OF EDMONTONGOVERNMENT

How many women run

for politics

How many female

political leaders can

girls identify?

RecapEncourage young girls Engage Run for politics!

Through classroompresentations and fieldtrips

Through mentorship, skillsdevelopment, and confidence

GENDER EQUALITY IN THE CITY OF EDMONTONGOVERNMENT

Reduce instances of impostersyndrome and run for

positions of political power

Thank You!

Questions?