Over 1.5 million women in Canada are living in poverty, equating to 12% of all Canadian women, according to Statistics Canada. As a female, living in poverty is especially more difficult as they are more vulnerable to domestic violence, which they are often unable to escape at home. It is also likely that they are sexually exploited in the sex trade.
Causes of Women’s Poverty
Caregiving responsibilities: Because women often have the responsibility of caring for young children, as well as their own mothers and fathers, they are more likely to work part-time (instead of full-time) which can affect the income of future generations.
Pay inequity: The gender wage gap is very much alive to this day. Women in STEM are paid less; even women in female-dominated professions such as nursing are paid less than their male counterparts. Another astonishing fact: women only make 71% of their male counterparts in full-time jobs.
Inadequate government programs: Women with disabilities and single mothers often rely on government benefits for their income, which increases the chance that they live in poverty because welfare and disability benefits programs in Canada fall far short of any poverty line.
Of course, there is a surplus of reasons why women live in poverty in Canada; for example, many are born into it. Aside from the cause, poverty impacts the health and security of women and their families and deprives women of the freedom to participate fully in their communities. Women’s poverty erodes their rights to equality.
Why is Women’s Poverty so Important?
-Economic stability is crucial to women’s quality of life, health and well-being, safety, and especially their human rights.
-Removing barriers to women’s economic stability and independence helps to break the cycle of poverty for them, their children, dependents, and future generations. It creates a ripple effect for the rest of the world.
-A society where individuals live in income disparities is expensive. Poverty and its negative outcomes costs taxpayers, provincial and federal governments billions of dollars annually.
-Canada could add $150 billion to its GDP by 2026 by advancing gender equality and boosting women’s workforce participation.
“While poverty persists, there is no true freedom.” - Nelson Mandela
A Word on Marginalized Groups
While gender discrimination impacts all women, different barriers related to factors such as race, citizenship status, sexuality, and gender identity put women at an even greater risk for marginalization.
-New immigrant women who have a university degree and work full-time earn $14,000 less than Canadian-born women who have a university degree.
-The unemployment rate of Black women in Canada is twice that of non-racialized women, and Black women face greater barriers to getting well-paid jobs in particular.
-Women in 2SLGBTQ+ communities have a high level of poverty and marginalization related to homophobia and transphobia. For example, 1 in 4 queer or trans youth in BC are forced out of their homes because of family conflict.
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