Canadian Centre for Policy Alternative Report

A new report has been released from the Canadian centre for Policy Alternatives by Kate Mcinturff and Courtney Lockhart. There are 2.5 million more Canadian women in the workforce today than 30 years ago. However, women still continue to spend nearly twice as more hours as men do when providing child care and engaging in household chores. This report has concluded that when governments invest and provide access to affordable child care, women and their families are able to access paid work and financial stability. The report comes across different cities in Canada and each city is ranked overall and by their economic security, education, health, leadership and security. Cities like Gatineu and Victoria had ranked the highest because they have narrowed the wage gap between men and women. One of the reasons for this is because of the large public sector where employers are highly unionized. Quebec has ranked third overall because the employment rates amongst women are high, making the gender gap the smallest in Canada. The province of Quebec has put a few policies back on the public agenda that would address challenges that women in Canada face when balancing work and family life. One important policy is subsided child care, along with parental and paternity leave. To see full report, click here