By Linda Reid

Women have made great strides in the past hundred years. One of the areas where women have made important advances is in the traditionally male-dominated field of politics. In honour of International Women's Day, I would like to take some time to discuss women in politics.

The right to vote is so established in our society that both men and women take it for granted. However, it is particularly important for women to remember that we did not have the right to vote in provincial elections until 1917 and in Canadian elections until 1918. We need to keep in mind that it was the hard work of women nearly a century ago that empowered all women today to participate fully in the democratic process.

Women began to seek and win elected office almost from the moment we won the right to vote. In British Columbia, Mary Ellen Smith ran in a by-election after her husband, MLA Ralph Smith, passed away. It was a historic by-election, marking the first time women could vote for their MLA and the first time in B.C. that a woman's name appeared on a ballot.

And, of course, it was the first time a woman won an election.

Ms. Smith went on from there to record two more important firsts. On March 23, 1921, she was appointed to cabinet by Premier John Oliver, becoming the first woman anywhere in the British Empire to serve as a minister. Ms. Smith is also considered to be the first woman to preside over parliamentary proceedings. She filled in for the deputy Speaker on February 22, 1928, during the budget debate. She may very well have been the first to be called "Madame Speaker".

Things have changed a lot since then.

While we are still a long way from equal representation, we have made significant progress. Currently 21 percent of MLAs in B.C. are women—nine in the B.C. Liberal caucus and eight in the B.C. NDP caucus. In government now, five of 22 are women cabinet ministers.

How do we get to the point where half of our MLAs and half of our cabinet ministers are women? One of the ways we can work toward this goal is by continuing to support initiatives such as the Canadian Women Voters Congress Women's Campaign School, which I cochair.

The Women's Campaign School is a three-day training course which gives women the tools they need to effectively participate in all levels of politics. It is the longest-running nonpartisan campaign school of its kind in Canada. Women acquire practical skills and firsthand experiences from veteran politicians and advisors of all political parties.

Over the past decade, more than 400 women have gained valuable insight and knowledge through the Women's Campaign School. In 2008, 32 graduates sought elected office. I'm proud to report that 20 of them won—a success rate of almost 63 percent.

I strongly encourage all women who are interested in running for public office to take part in our next school, which runs March 27 to 29, 2009, at the SFU Harbour Centre. For more information please go to womenscampaignschool.org.

Linda Reid is B.C.'s minister of state for child care.

The Straight is publishing a series of International Women's Day-related commentaries on-line in the lead-up to March 8.

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