Committee appointment sparks gender parity debate
What should have been a simple rubber stamp on a committee appointment, spiralled into a debate on gender parity in council chambers.
A motion to appoint a male representative to the Community Services Advisory Committee was met with stiff position by Coun. Terra Lennox-Zepp. She argued a woman should be appointed to replace the female representative who was stepping down, more so as only four of the 11 members of the committee are women.
“We are losing a woman in one spot, let’s replace it and consider gender parity, let’s consider diversity,” she said. “I think the city would be well to consider that we want different types of people on each committee.”
Eight residents applied to fill the vacant position. Lennox-Zepp argued she saw no reason her preferred female candidate lacked equal credentials to the male. She expressed a further concern how none of the city’s committees held gender parity.