Christy Clark is the only woman with a substantial portfolio in the Campbell cabinet. Cindy Hawkins, Linda Reid, Susan Brice, and Ida Chong are all junior ministers of state who aren't paid as much as the "real thing". Joyce Murray was demoted to Minister of Management Services, an unnecessary seat warming job, in the cabinet shuffle. The remaining woman, Shirley Bond, is Minister of Advanced Education, an important portfolio but not one that appears to put her in a class with Gary Collins, Geoff Plant or Rich Coleman.

Campbell not only has to find someone to take on Clark's job as Minister of Children and Family Development, but he needs to demonstrate that he is prepared to give women the same responsibilities that he's given to the boys. Both in opposition, following her 1996 election, and in government, Clark has had a high profile, earned in part by her sharp wit and tongue. She is part of a government that forces single welfare moms to find work when their children reach age three. Maybe she did make a fundamental lifestyle decision to spend more time with her family, or maybe she's a real liberal, sickened by the hard right policies of the Campbell government, and like many British Columbians, shuddering at the prospect of what's on the agenda for a second term. Of course, there are other possibilities but they will remain the subject of speculation by the cynics. Whatever the real reason for Clark's decision, she must have known that it would draw attention to how Campbell assigns women roles in his government.