TORONTO – Nineteen ministers and nineteen ministers, with the three most important ministries entrusted to three women. The new federal government led by Justin Trudeau – after those resulting from the electoral victories of 2015 and 2019 – takes on a very specific connotation, where there is a perfect equal balance of gender that becomes the predominant element compared to other factors that have historically characterized the process of formation of the executive in Canada, such as geographical origin or ethnic origin. 

Chrystia Freeland has been confirmed in the dual fundamental role of deputy prime minister – with broad powers and with almost unlimited autonomy – and minister of finance, a key role in a phase in which the government must not only continue to implement measures and measures against the economic crisis caused by the pandemic, but must also develop the fiscal road map to gradually reach a balanced budget with the consequent elimination of the deficit.

Anita Anand has been promoted to the Defense portfolio and this appointment also has a deep symbolic significance, given that the Canadian army in recent months has been overwhelmed by the scandal of sexual abuse and, more generally, of a deep-rooted culture of non-respect for the rights of women in uniform. Before Anand, only one other woman had held this position, Kim Campbell, and only for six months from January to June 1993.

Mélanie Joly, on the other hand, has been appointed Foreign Minister, and this appointment also has a certain symbolic value: a woman will in fact be the most important representative of Canada abroad and on the world geopolitical stage.

That said, it must be added that the other women who are part of the new executive have also been entrusted with leading roles and skills: Mary Ng for Foreign Trade, Patty Hajdu in the very delicate dicastery for Indigenous Services, Mona Fortier for the Treasury, Diane Lebouthillier for National Revenue, Carla Qualtrough for Employment, the Italian Canadian Filomena Tassi for Public Services.

In short, we are facing an epochal turning point, with a large group of competent deputies, prepared and qualified to exercise roles that in the past were reserved or almost reserved for male political exponents.

Yet some doubts remain and this is not the fault of the new ministers, whose prominent political pedigree does not need any further explanation, but because of the methodology used by Trudeau himself in the composition of the executive. In Italy, the need to guarantee the presence of women in politics has been defined as the pink quota: a minimum number of deputies who must be present in parliament. The achievement of this goal, which with the electoral law called Rosatellum imposes the presence of at least 40 percent of women on the lists of candidates, has been accompanied by a heated debate that has seen, paradoxically, many exponents of Italian feminism strongly opposed.
Luciana Castellina, a communist and feminist, criticized the system of quotas rose: “I have never been a great fan of women’s quotas: it is not that society changes if a woman slips into male roles”.

A line shared by another historical exponent of Italian feminism, Ritanna Armeni: “If I had to do a political battle, today, I would do it to establish that it is not a party secretary who chooses me, and above all to choose me as a woman. From women, on the other hand, I expect them to be bold, troublemakers, insistent, and that they are not satisfied with access favored by quotas, because they have all the tools to achieve more, much more”. Much tougher is the position of one of the main feminists of the seventies, Lea Melandri: “The pink quotas are a rearguard battle. What’s more, a resounding misunderstanding of what women in politics could, and should do. This is not how discrimination is fought.”

Anthropologist and writer Ida Magli has supported similar positions: “Accepting the idea of quotas is a step backwards, like confessing to being a species to be protected, thus destroying years of achievements that women have managed to achieve on their own. In many fields they have forced men to the margins, becoming the majority or making themselves appreciated more than men”.

But what is the basic thesis highlighted by some historical exponents of Italian feminism? In essence, it is that guaranteeing or attributing a certain political office to a person just because he is a woman means diminishing the preparation and qualities of the same.

In our opinion, Freeland, Anand and Joly have political qualities and skills out of the ordinary and the important position they will hold represents the right recognition of a single principle: that of merit. On the other hand, we are not entirely sure that the method of choice decided and used by the liberal prime minister has followed this reasoning and has instead fallen into the same contradictions highlighted by numerous exponents of Italian feminism on pink quotas.