The Rants of Issachar
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Stephen Harper and Women
The National Post ran a story on Sunday about Stephen Harper's apparently low polling with women. I just caught Raphael Alexander's blog entry about the issue today so I'm posting nearly a week late.
As to whether or not women are less inclined to vote for the Conservatives, (or more for the Liberals & NDP), I think it's about as relevant as to whether or not men are more inclined to vote Conservative. That is, it's relevant in a strategic political sense, but bears little correlation if any as to whether or not Conservative policies are superior.
That said, I found this quote from the article irritating.
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The catch is that the National Action Committee on the Status of Women was in part funded by Status of Women Canada. This is something that requires disclosure when you're making comments about the virtues of funding Status of Women Canada. Of course Ms. Rebick may well have disclosed it and it may not have made it in the article, but I doubt it.
Should the government be funding special interest groups like the National Action Committee on the Status of Women? Would Ms. Rebick think it perfectly acceptable for the government to fund Real Women Canada which according to their site promotes "equality for all women"?
Neither Real Women Canada nor the National Action Committee of the Status of Women represent "women" because "women" aren't a monolithic group. So should the government be funding them at all?
As to whether or not women are less inclined to vote for the Conservatives, (or more for the Liberals & NDP), I think it's about as relevant as to whether or not men are more inclined to vote Conservative. That is, it's relevant in a strategic political sense, but bears little correlation if any as to whether or not Conservative policies are superior.
That said, I found this quote from the article irritating.
"He's like a walking brain. There's no warmth to the guy," said Judy Rebick, a Ryerson University professor and former president of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women who once ran provincially as an NDP candidate.
...
One of the Harper government's most high-profile decisions regarding women came in fall 2006, when it cut $5-million in administrative funding from Status of Women Canada, an agency that promotes gender equality.
The catch is that the National Action Committee on the Status of Women was in part funded by Status of Women Canada. This is something that requires disclosure when you're making comments about the virtues of funding Status of Women Canada. Of course Ms. Rebick may well have disclosed it and it may not have made it in the article, but I doubt it.
Should the government be funding special interest groups like the National Action Committee on the Status of Women? Would Ms. Rebick think it perfectly acceptable for the government to fund Real Women Canada which according to their site promotes "equality for all women"?
Neither Real Women Canada nor the National Action Committee of the Status of Women represent "women" because "women" aren't a monolithic group. So should the government be funding them at all?
