Still Counting

Let me say what a fabulous book it is! The usefulness of the book can be summed up in the reason the authors give for writing it: women have not achieved parity in public office, that lack of parity is important to document, but very little work has been done to document it. This book goes a long way to fill that gap. Written in very accessible language, it will be useful for both introductory and upper level undergraduate classes in political science. -- Linda White, University of Toronto Linda Trimble and Jane Arscott have delivered a very readable, empirically sound and theoretically informed account of women's participation in electoral politics. This text will convince many readers that Canada is, indeed, suffering a self-inflicted democratic deficit by drawing its elite politicians from a predominantly male pool. This is a deficit that can be remedied. The authors note that Canada's masculinist political culture also needs renovation if more women are to be recruited into partisan politics, and if successful female politicians are not to be isolated and alienated by social and structural exclusions in the corridors of power. -- Joyce Green, University of Regina Still Counting is a state-of-the-art examination of women's involvement in Canadian politics. Linda Trimble and Jane Arscott have written a lively and accessible book that shows how much progress Canadian women have made, and how great a distance we still have to go. This book belongs on the shelf of anyone with an interest in contemporary Canadian politics. -- Lisa Young, University of Calgary

"Still Counting is a state-of-the-art examination of women's involvement in Canadian politics.... This book belongs on the shelf of anyone with an interest in contemporary Canadian politics." - Lisa Young, University of Calgary

Still Counting explains why scholars and activists continue to count the number of women elected to Canada's legislatures, and demonstrates that, by any measure, women are only halfway to equal. The authors assert that an "electoral glass ceiling" is keeping women at or below the 25 per cent mark, restricting women to less than half of the seats that would be theirs in a democracy committed to balanced, equitable, and fair representation. Moreover, little is being done to address this democratic deficit. Despite drawbacks, such as the "revolving door" for female party leaders and continued sexism in legislatures, the authors also show how women can, and do, make a difference in politics.