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This article was published 14/10/2014 (2168 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

I paid $25 to attend a mayoral forum and all I got was crushing disappointment.

Tuesday's early morning breakfast forum hosted by The Business and Professional Women of Winnipeg (BPW) confirmed just how badly we need more women in positions of influence at city hall -- and how much women's issues continue to get the short shrift during this mayoral race.

It's disappointing that more women, specifically, didn't (or couldn't) attend the forum, which was held at the Fort Garry Hotel -- the forum's $25 registration fee drew criticism on social media, many saying it was prohibitive (full disclosure: I was asked to moderate this discussion but declined in order to attend as a journalist.) But I doubt the 20 or so people who did turn up got much substance out of it; the candidates were pretty disappointing as well. Many failed to address the forum's three core subjects -- the lack of representation of women in council, how they would support women in small business and how they would keep Winnipeg's women safe and ensure access to education, employment and affordable housing -- in a thoughtful or meaningful way. We were left wanting so much more.

Gord Steeves trotted out the dismissive "people are people" line, before leaving to take a phone call and never returning. Robert-Falcon Ouelette made a few salient points about working to ensure complaints about sexual violence made by sexually exploited women are taken seriously by the Winnipeg Police Service -- but he mostly used his time to rehash his LRT plan.

Michel Fillion made several confusing statements that seemed to suggest his experience as a booking agent for exotic dancers makes him uniquely qualified to reach out to women -- including a bizarre comment about how new girls come to Superb Entertainment as "kittens" and "mature into lions." (He also wants to bring back brothels.)

On the subject of representation, Brian Bowman agreed women are under-represented in municipal politics but offered little in the way of solutions. Paula Havixbeck, Judy Wasylycia-Leis and David Sanders were the strongest candidates on this topic. Sanders suggested that city council adopt the UN's seven Women's Empowerment Principles to help foster a more respectful workplace at city hall. Havixbeck didn't mince words about city hall being a hostile environment for women. On the 2010-2014 city council, she was one of three women; when she was appointed to the executive policy committee, she was one voice out of seven. "In hindsight, I believe that was a token appointment," she said.

"I'm a firm believer in building on what we have, but there's nothing (at city hall) for women," she added. She'd like to see a status of women committee, as well as more inclusion of women on other boards.

Wasylycia-Leis echoed that sentiment. "It's not just systemic discrimination; there's something about city hall that discourages women from even attempting it," she said, calling it an "ugly, mean-spirited place."

I'd argue that systemic discrimination is a big barrier to women pursuing positions in power. Regardless of their workplace, women are still often scrutinized under a sexist lens. Poor performance (perceived or real) is often credited to her emotional state or how much she has "going on at home." If she's assertive, she's a bitch. If she's outspoken, she's shrill.

If we want more women in city hall, we need to make it a less toxic space for women. Indeed, we all remember how Susan Thompson was treated during her time as Winnipeg's first female mayor in the 1990s, dealing with attacks on her weight and personal life (she was a single woman, the horror). In 2010, she told Free Press columnist Lindor Reynolds that her time at city hall was "brutal" and the attacks were "so vicious she was glad her parents weren't alive to hear them." She's not the only female politician who has had to deal with sexism.

Gee, I wonder why women aren't clamouring for the chance to subject themselves to that?

And if women aren't being treated like a special interest group -- as opposed to, you know, half the population -- they're being told to simply "be more confident" as though it's their inability to speak up in boardrooms that has held them back and not, you know, institutional sexism. I've written this many times before, but here it is again: why do we constantly expect women to adjust their behaviour to fit within a system that doesn't value them instead of demanding the system change?

It's time for a change at city hall.

Jen Zoratti is a Free Press columnist who writes about women and popular culture. She is the founder of SCREAMING IN ALL CAPS: another feminist response to pop culture.

jen.zoratti@freepress.mb.ca