Toeing the Lines

In major Canadian political parties, as in other power structures, women rarely reach the upper echelons. In this study of the partisan experiences of women in English Canada, Sylvia Bashevkin traces the historical background to their political engagement from the early twentieth century. Using data from party records, in-depth interviews and public opinion surveys, she finds that the major parties continue to operate according to a gender-based division of labour. Bashevkin identifies a continuing dilemma for Canadian women, one that pits their commitment to political independence against the realities of a party-centred political system. As successive generations of women's groups have learned, loyalty to party organizations can advance the careers of individual women, but it can also endanger the autonomy of organized feminism. Nevertheless, recent feminist activities-such as the development of affirmative action politics and party women's funds-have helped to reform some aspects of Canadian party life and raise the level of female participation. In analysing the political condition of English Canadian women in a comparative context, Bashevkin makes an important contribution to ongoing debates about feminism and democratic practice.