There is no grand conspiracy that keeps women out of elected politics in N.B. But there are factors which act as significant barriers, according to the Commission on Legislative Democracy (final report released January 2005):

1. The present single member plurality electoral system. Parties must run a candidate with the broadest appeal and usually choose a man. But under proportional representation, a party can nominate more than one candidate on its party list. Countries with PR systems elect more women. The Commission ran simulations with the mixed member proportional representation system it is proposing for N.B. (see next article below) and found that a woman placing second or third on the regional list would get elected. The Commission believes that changing from our single-member plurality system to the proposed regional mixed member proportional system is essential to electing more women to the N.B. legislature.
2. Party nomination processes and financial requirements. The role of parties as gatekeepers to the legislature cannot be overstated and in N.B., few women get past the gate to be nominated.

   	1991	1995	1999	2003
   NDP	25	20	24	15
   Liberal	9	8	9	9
   PC	9	5	10	9

   There is no evidence that women are discriminated against in Canada by voters once they have become candidates, so the Commission looked to party nomination process as the most significant barrier outside the electoral system. Parties receive a significant portion of their funding through tax credits and an annual allocation from the legislature. In 2004, the 3 main parties received $646,000 (total) under the Political Process Financing Act. With public funds go obligations to meet democratic goals. The Commission recommends that parties get $1 more per vote (they currently get $1.73 per vote) if at least 35% of general election candidates were women. The Commission estimates that by 2015, 35% of MLAs in N.B. would be female. This incentive would be reviewed once the legislature reaches 45% women. The Commission also recommended that a spending limit of $5,000 be set for nomination contests. Parties would have to report to the legislature what measures they are taking to increase women's representation. The number and type of positions held by women in provincial and constituency association executives of parties would also be made public.
3. Timetable: Set a fixed election date (third Monday in Oct.) and a fixed calendar for opening and closing of the House.
4. Education: Many qualified women do not run for elected office because the political process is unfamiliar to them. Political parties themselves may not be fully aware of the barriers within their parties to women running for office. The Commission recommends a program to financially support community groups that provide information, organize activities for women interested in entering municipal or provincial politics and to provide information to parties.