More diversity in cabinet starts in the years leading up to an election, experts say

Political parties need to recruit and support candidates from underrepresented groups if they want provincial cabinets and legislatures to better reflect the population they serve, experts say.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is facing criticism for appointing a cabinet that lacks diversity. Her 25-member cabinet has only five women, including herself, and three people from diverse backgrounds. 

The lack of diversity in Smith's inner circle reflects the make-up of the new 48-member UCP caucus. Six members of the UCP caucus come from a racialized background and 10 MLA-elects are women. 

On Tuesday, Smith said half the party's candidates were women or from diverse backgrounds. Eighteen of 87 candidates were women, 22 were from racialized backgrounds. 

Smith said she believes in a "whole government approach" of ensuring diverse voices are heard. 

"Having diverse candidates is only one way that you can have diversity in government," she said on Tuesday. 

"We have also diversity in our chiefs of staff and our press secretaries, in our other legislative staff, in our deputy ministers and in through our other levels of the bureaucracy, through our agencies, boards and commissions."

But advocates say the background of who occupies high-visibility positions in cabinet and the legislative assembly  matters to underrepresented groups. 

Chi Nguyen, executive director of Equal Voice, an organization dedicated to getting more women elected to all three levels of government, said the lack of diversity in Smith's cabinet sends a negative message about who should be making important decisions in society. 

"If it was like seven-year-old me, I'd think, 'Oh, maybe I don't belong in politics,'" Nguyen said. 

"There aren't that many women around that cabinet table."

Nguyen said Smith does have five women in cabinet or 20 per cent of its membership. Equal Voice has found a proportion of thirty per cent women reaches what it calls critical mass, where there is a measurable influence on policy and decision-making. 

She said parties need to take an active role in recruiting women to run if they want to improve the gender make-up of their elected members. 

"You have to actively be looking for and tapping people on the shoulder," Nguyen said.