48% of SLUGs (a cohort of student associations we detailed earlier today) are represented by a woman president this year. Before a changeover of the student association president at Algonquin happened, it might have been 52%.

This is exciting news, and representation of women in the top echelons of the student union world is something we should celebrate. So let’s take a look at the last 5 years of SLUGs data and whether the president or president equivalent is a woman.

School	22-23	21-22	20-21	19-20	18-19	%Women Last-5 Years
Guelph	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	60%
Athabasca	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	60%
U of A	No	No	No	Yes	No	20%
U of C	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	60%
SFU	No	No	Yes	No	No	20%
FraserValleyU	No	–	Yes	–	–	50%
UBC	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	40%
BCIT	No	No	No	No	No	0%
UManitoba	No	No	Yes	No	No	20%
Queen’s	No	No	No	No	No	0%
Carleton	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	60%
McMaster	No	No	No	No	Yes	20%
Waterloo	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	40%
Ottawa	No	No	No	–	–	0%
TMU	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	40%
UofT	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	60%
York	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	80%
Algonquin	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	80%
Centennial	Yes	No	No	No	No	20%
Fanshawe	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	40%
McGill	Yes	No	No	No	No	20%
Laval	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	40%
TOTAL	48%	33%	44%	30%	30%

This table was not made with the intent to misgender anyone or ignore the existence of non-binary executives, so if there’s a correction related to that or any other reason we need to correct data, let us know!

As we can see, 2022-23 was a banner year in representation, breaking the 50% barrier in the 25 associations we look at here, at least when elections occurred.

So, are we there yet? I think there are some things to consider when asking about gender equality in the presidential office.

First, and probably less importantly, it’s important to remember that universities and colleges are not 50-50 on attendance, nowadays more students tend to be women. So reaching that 50% isn’t actually representative of the candidate pool.

Second, and more important, is figuring out not just the ability to get elected, but the ability to succeed. Are women facing a harder time getting respect from stakeholders? Are they suffering from more mental health effects as a result of their presidency? These are important questions that are another dimension to representation.

So. 48%. That’s our figure today. Let’s see where we land in June. With that, we’re OFF.