It’s time for our political systems to face the truth about misogynoir

This post originally appeared on the Hill Times.

Misogynoir is alive and well in Canadian politics. Celina Caesar-Chavannes told us so.

Coined by Dr. Moya Bailey, misogynoir explains “the specific hatred, dislike, distrust, and prejudice directed toward Black women.” From media tropes to double standards, this unique form of anti-Black and misogynistic oppression takes many forms, and the systemic barriers facing Black women like Annamie Paul and Caesar-Chavannes give us a glimpse into how smoothly it operates in Canadian politics.

A study of Paul’s time as leader of the Green Party of Canada shows a journey paved with a form of resistance and systemic failure reserved only for Black women, who, more often than not, are the only Black people at the helm of a large, influential, and majority-white organization like the Green Party.

The reality is that because of the elitist and inaccessible nature of Canadian politics, partly due to the party system, Black women running and succeeding in politics remains an anomaly, resulting in an “Only” experience that makes it especially hard for them to be acclimatized to their new role and be supported when they step into power. According to Lean In, Black women who are Onlys often report feeling closely watched, on guard, and under increased pressure to perform. Sound familiar?

As early as April 2021, there were reports of Paul facing obstacles from powerful officials that threatened her success as Canada’s first Black and Jewish political leader, including a delay in finalizing her employment contract that had her serving as leader without getting paid for the first three months of her term—even though a contract was reportedly ready for the new leader before she was elected to the job. All throughout her tenure, she’s been treated as the angry and difficult Black women, a trope that paints Black women as irrational, resulting in a political climate that is more concerned with analyzing why and how she leads the way she does instead of justifiably criticizing her policy positions—such as her stance on the occupation of Palestine and human rights abuses by Israel, an issue that all Canadian political leaders get a failing grade on. In a leaked letter from the federal council, the governing body of the Green Party, Paul was repeatedly criticized for her “aggressive” and “hostile” leadership when her leadership style reflects one that is embodied by many white men in power, namely Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Remember when he yelled at Caesar-Chavannes when she shared her plans to not run for a second term with him? Is that a leadership style that anyone should aspire to? No. Is Paul being criticized for behaviour that white men regularly get away with? Yes.

The portrayal of Paul as a hostile and aggressive leader tells us just as much about her leadership style as it does about the Green Party, and the broader political spectrum’s systemic inability to embrace and support Black women when they step into leadership positions. The tone policing aimed at Paul is also rooted in misogynoir, which has real implications for Black women in the workplace; according to a study, Black women who were perceived as angry tended to receive lower performance evaluations, such as the one that led to planning a non-confidence vote on Paul’s leadership, which was suspended earlier this week. It is a symptom of tokenism, which only invites Black women into our political system as long as they toe the line and don’t shake up the establishment. The Greens were fast to boast about the election of Canada’s first-ever Black woman party leader, but have been struggling to challenge and reform the oppressive internal structures that impede on her ability to lead, and blaze the trail for more Black women to join and take on leadership within the party.

We fail Black women when we encourage them to take on leadership roles in a system that will do everything in its power to control their narrative and drive them away. It’s time for our political systems to face the truth about misogynoir and its part in our collective response to Paul, and the need for a systematically different approach to promoting and supporting Black women’s leadership.