International Women’s Day 2023 : Granby Mayor Julie Bourdon discutes the challenges related to women participating in local government

March 8, 2023 – For International Women’s Day, CHIP 101.9 spoke to Julie Bourdon, the President of the Women’s Commission and Governance of the Union des municipalités du Québec (UMQ), and Mayor of Granby.

In the interview Bourdon talked about the challenges and issues related to women participating in local government and their representation on municipal councils, as well as the actions taken by the UMQ to support female elected municipal officials in their mandates, and encourage more women to run for office in the 2025.

“Well, we’re seeing more and more women getting involved in politics, we have more and more female elected representatives, which is good, because basically, we also represent the population. And, certainly having female role models can encourage other women to run for office. We do not see many elected female model, I mean yes, I may have my place.  I can be a role model, and help other women to say I’m going to get involved and introduce myself. There are certainly obstacles that we could talk about, and there are some that can apply to both men and women, the pressures of social media for example.”

– Julie Bourdon, Mayor of Granby

“My advice is don’t hesitate, go for it. Politics is really there to change the quality of life of citizens, of our citizens. So politics, especially at the level of municipal government has a concrete impact on people’s lives and can really improve everyday life. So, again, we must represent the population. So to have 50% women and 50% men in the directors room is good. »

– Julie Bourdon, Mayor of Granby

The full interview with the President of the Women’s Commission and Governance of the Union des municipalités du Québec (UMQ), and Mayor of Granby, Julie Bourdon is available in French here.