Abstract
Previous research has shown that Canadian municipalities have lower visible minority proportionality rates among elected officials than other levels of government. To understand why, six visible minority city councillors and candidates from Toronto and Vancouver were interviewed. Respondents contributed their personal experiences and perspectives on issues of mirror, symbolic, and substantive representation of visible minorities. They discussed their initial involvement or interest in elite politics, their role models, and their understanding of the term “visible minority.” A broad narrative describes the complexities of political representation in practice and revealed that there were fewer entry points into elite municipal politics for individuals from marginalized groups. These entry points are further obscured by systemic barriers. Barriers were common for both cities despite differences in electoral systems and council structure. This paper recommends reimagining the “visible minority” categorization, and a policy framework that promotes the democratic ideal through institutional evaluations and acclaim for advancements.
Highlights
In the first workshop the participants, who were from Chinese, South Asian, African, Hispanic, and Aboriginal communities, were shown a composite image of Toronto City Council and asked, “What can you tell about your city representatives from this picture?” The first thing anyone noticed in each workshop was always that “they are mostly white,” usually followed closely by, “they are mostly men.”
The elite interview tool was selected for this study because it is the best suited for exploratory research; as there has been little research done to date on proportional representation from visible minority politicians’ perspectives, this study aims to establish a theoretical basis for future work
In considering the central question of why there are fewer visible minorities represented at the local level, I found that there are two main causes: first, that there are fewer points of entry into elite-level municipal politics for individuals from marginalized groups; and second, that those entry points are further obscured or limited by systemic barriers
Summary
During the summer of 2014, I had the opportunity to work with Social Planning Toronto on the Toronto Civic Literacy Collaborative’s production of a “train-the-trainer” civic engagement workshop series, which benefited community leaders from affiliated ethnocultural organizations. In the first workshop the participants, who were from Chinese, South Asian, African, Hispanic, and Aboriginal communities, were shown a composite image of Toronto City Council and asked, “What can you tell about your city representatives from this picture?” The first thing anyone noticed in each workshop was always that “they are mostly white,” usually followed closely by, “they are mostly men.”. They were asked, “Do you feel represented by the people in this picture?” Most participants shook their heads; many had never seen these people before. Too, are interpretations on what normative democracy should look like in practice
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