David Cameron should take note from Canada’s new Prime Minister, a self-declared feminist who summed up why every cabinet should have gender parity with three very important words: “Because it’s 2015.”
Justin Trudeau was officially sworn into office on Wednesday. His first act as leader was to introduce a completely gender equal cabinet in a move Sheila Copps, the former Canadian deputy prime minister, hailed as a “ historic day for women”.
She told CBC: ”Gender parity in the national Cabinet is huge. It sends a great message to our daughters and sons.”
When a reporter asked why he believed it was so important to have a cabinet with an equal number of men and women, his response was simple.
Female ministers in his cabinet include Chrystia Freeland, a former journalist, who was sworn as the Minister of International Trade, and Maryam Monsef, who fled Afghanistan with her family as a child.
Trudeau hailed his chosen ministers as the advent of “government by Cabinet” and promised a new era of transparency after ten years of Conservative rule that largely shunned the media.
With a CV that includes stints as a snowboard instructor, teacher and a nightclub bouncer, Trudeau has already set himself apart from other world leaders as a more relatable candidate.
He is notably more liberal than his predecessor, with his policies focusing on climate change, the economy, welfare, the refugee crisis and decriminalising cannabis.