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Work & Wages

The economic downturn caused by COVID-19 has had a disproportionate impact on women, rolling back decades of progress towards gender and economic equality.

Women-dominated sectors took the biggest hit in the early months of the pandemic, with women losing more jobs and suffering from slower job recovery. Job losses and reductions in working hours were particularly high among recent immigrants to Canada, most of whom are racialized and working in precarious jobs that carry a high risk of exposure to COVID-19. To reverse the recession created by COVID-19, decision-makers must address our economy’s deepening gender, racial and income inequities. During the pandemic, income security programs such as the CERB played a critical role for women and helped offset a collapse in employment earnings. Ongoing employment supports should be expanded to address economic inequality and employment access.

The changes Oxfam wants to see:

The federal government should:

Implement the recommendations from the Taskforce on the National Plan for Women in the Economy.
Expand women’s access to unemployment insurance (EI) by modernizing and addressing the key gaps in the existing EI system.
Fully implement the Pay Equity Commissioner’s mandate by increasing funding to support women workers across the country.

Questions to ask candidates in your riding:

What is your party’s plan to address the pandemic induced “she-session” which has resulted in the lowest proportion of women in the workforce in 30 years?
What steps will your party take to ensure low-wage workers have access to employment insurance?
What will your party do to ensure women earn as much as men for work of equal value?

Work & Wages

The changes Oxfam wants to see:

Questions to ask candidates in your riding:

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