Political Participation of Inuit Women in the Government of Nunavut

Abstract

I nuit gender roles in the Baffin Region are discussed in three time periods: traditional (nomadic lifestyle), transitional (settlement lifestyle), and contemporary (Euro-Canadian lifestyle). The traditional period focuses on Baffin Region Inuit's social and cultural characteristics while leading a nomadic existence. The transitional period encompasses the social and cultural characteristics of Baffin Region Inuit who were born in outpost camps and moved into government settlements. For the purposes of this study, the transitional period is divided into the 1940s to 1970, and the 1970s through the 1980s. The contemporary period discusses Baffin Region Inuit culture experienced only in the settlements. It is necessary to analyze the status of Inuit men and women in the pou litical and economic spheres for all three periods of time to answer the > question, How did Inuit women become underrepresented in the political sphere? Women's participation, as a whole, in the Canadian electoral ? process has received a considerable amount of attention both publicly and politically. Relatively few women run for political office in Canada, 3 65 and even fewer women are elected. In the year 2000, 375 women were among the 1,808 elite' political candidates, a mere 20.7 percent of the total. This percentage reflects a gender gap that was also detected in the 1997 elections (Elections Canada). Historically, women were not allowed to vote or stand for election until the time of World War I in Canada, Denmark, Germany,