'What's in it for women?' The motivations, expectations and experiences offemale local councillors in Montreal, Canada and Hull, England

Based upon in-depth interviews with female councillors from Hull, England a nd from Montreal, Canada, this article seeks to address the motivations, ex pectations and experiences of female local councillors. It examines what ga lvanised these women into political activity, whether or not they encounter ed any difficulties in their quest to become a councillor and, once elected , how they operate. The key aspects identified by this research include, fi rstly, the obstacles faced by females in their quest to become local counci llors; secondly, the benefits/necessity of having a supportive partner and, thirdly, the concept of the 'dual calibre of councillor', that is, the com munity representative and the local politico.