Women in leadership and elected office

Working to remove barriers that keep women from joining boards, running for office and leading in the workforce.

Democracies depend on fair representation of the people. In Alberta, we have more women than men in Cabinet – a first in Canadian history. This is not a common experience.

Having women and men in decision-making positions helps organizations make better business decisions. Diversity puts more of a focus on how decisions affect clients or citizens.  Organizations should hire the right people for the job. They should also have fair hiring practices.

Relatively few women are in leadership positions in politics, on boards and in organizations. This happens around the world. Heads of state, CEOs, supreme court justices and board chairs still tend to be men. Women hold about 11% of corporate board positions in Alberta. A rule change passed by the Alberta Securities Commission should increase the number of women on corporate boards and in senior management positions in Alberta.

Alberta Women on Boards Index 2016 (0.1 MB)

Status of Women will work within the Government of Alberta and with organizations to help make gender parity more common.

Our work in women’s leadership includes:

• Working to increase the number of diversity programs in government.
• Supporting programs to increase gender parity in elected positions. This could be training, mentoring or communities of practice.
• Leading the Women in Leadership initiative in the government to help increase the number of women in executive roles.
• Supporting strong workplace policies on flexible and alternative work.
• Researching the barriers women in government may experience when striving for leadership.