From a historic first to fewer seats, Calgary elects just two women to council

Just two women secured seats in this election, marking Calgary’s lowest level of female representation in more than a decade.

Calgary’s newly elected city council includes just two women among its 14 councillors and the mayor, marking the lowest level of female representation in more than a decade.

According to unofficial results, Jennifer Wyness was re-elected in Ward 2, while Communities First candidate Kim Tyers was elected in Ward 1.

The pair represent just 13 per cent of council — the lowest proportion of women since the 2013 municipal election — despite three women running for mayor and female candidates in all but two wards.

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“I’m grateful we’re sending a few women to council this time around,” said Karen Vanthuyne, president of Ask Her, a non-profit advocating for gender parity on city council.

“I wish it as higher. I wish we were able to sustain the efforts made in 2021.”

In 2021, Jyoti Gondek made history when she was elected Calgary’s first female mayor — a legacy she is proud of.

“I am a trailblazer,” she said to reporters shortly after giving a concession speech Monday night.

“I was the first woman to be elected mayor in this city, and I am. No one’s taking that away from me, and no one is taking away from the fact that there will be more women who will be the mayor of the city. Just because I’m done doesn’t mean women are done.”

Gondek’s loss to Jeromy Farkas marked the first time in more than 40 years that a mayor seeking a second term wasn’t re-elected.

Gondek was among five women who served on the previous council — up from three in 2017.

“I think it’s a reminder that progress is fragile and something we need to keep working towards,” Vanthuyne said.

“You need to be able to see all the facets of your society reflected in your leadership. You need those voices at the table so solutions can be more thought out and consider all those in the community, and without that representation there, it’s harder to get that.”

Vanthuyne said the top three barriers women face when running for office are child care and the disproportionate burden of caregiving, challenges with financing and fundraising, and increased concerns around safety and harassment — both in person and online.

The harassment targeted at Gondek during her time as mayor is well-documented, but her female counterparts say they experienced it as well.

“During the campaigns, you’d get [inappropriate pictures] sent to you, and you’d have to stay focused on policy and doing the job,” Wyness said.

She believes that there also needs to be a shift in how women are covered by the media in comparison to male candidates.

“Men can have their strategies and policies talked about more, where women it’s more soft policies — and we have to start shifting that representation during the campaign period to show our competence,” she said.

There has only ever been a maximum of six women who’ve served on Calgary city council — 40 per cent of the team — in the 1990s.

However, council does have some momentous gender milestones in addition to Gondek becoming the first female mayor and Annie Gale’s historic election in 1917 as the first female alderman in both the city and the country.

There is a strong show of female representation among the newly elected public school trustees, with six of the seven seats held by women.

That contrast may reflect how certain political roles are still viewed through a gendered lens, according to Erica Rayment, a political science professor at the University of Calgary.

“Because it’s in education space, this is a role that is coded as being feminine, so it’s seen as appropriate, or gender-stereotyped, aligned for women to serve in those positions. Where council positions, because it’s more public-facing and economically orientated, it’s more seen as a more serious job that’s more masculine-coded,” she said.

The new council will be sworn in on Oct. 29.