TORONTO - Women now hold one-quarter of the seats in the Ontario legislature following Tuesday's swearing-in of Burlington Conservative Joyce Savoline, leaving the province behind only Quebec and Prince Edward Island in terms of percentage of women elected to provincial office.

Savoline became the 26th woman in the 103-seat provincial legislature, and the third elected as a Conservative since party Leader John Tory was appointed in 2004.

"I think women's experiences are different, not the least of which -- for a lot of women -- is child-rearing," Savoline said before being officially sworn in.

"Women are nurturers and caregivers, and I think that that perspective comes forward."

Tory said having 25 per cent women in the legislature "was only a step along the way," and he called on all parties to do a better job of bringing more women into politics.

"We have a lot more work to do, all of us, to make sure that women are better represented in the legislature," Tory said.

"I think it's important that we change the composition of the legislature to include more women because they bring a different perspective to bear on the issues. I think they will improve the level of behaviour in the legislature."

The Opposition leader said he wants to see at least 30 women running as Conservative candidates for the 107 seats that will be up for grabs in the Oct. 10 general election.

"We're going to work very hard to do better than that, and we're certainly going to have increased numbers over what we've had in the past," Tory said.

"It represents a substantial increase, and it represents an attempt on our part to match what the other parties are trying to do in terms of substantial progress without setting goals that are unrealistic."

The governing Liberal caucus is 24 per cent women, and they account for more than one-third of Premier Dalton McGuinty's cabinet ministers.

McGuinty has promised to nominate women in half of the ridings the Liberals do not currently represent in the legislature, but the opposition parties say they doubt the move will get more women elected.

NDP Leader Howard Hampton has said he wants women to account for half of the party's candidates in the October election.

Women account for only 21 per cent of the members of Parliament in Ottawa, but they make up 28 per cent of Quebec's national assembly and 26 per cent of the P.E.I. legislature, the only two provincial governments with a greater percentage of women members than Ontario.