International Women's Day
Women still make up a larger percentage of workers in social services, education, and personal care, to name a few. Sectors that were heavily criticized for the coronavirus were more likely to be laid off or forced to work fewer hours.
In short, women have borne the brunt of job losses and it may take years to recover from the financial devastation. Women were more likely to quit work or take leave to care for children or other family members
In fact, according to a recent report by RBC, nearly half a million Canadian women who lost their jobs during the pandemic have not returned to work. This is troubling.
I reached out to Jennifer Reynolds, President and CEO of Toronto Finance International. Here is what she has to say,
“There is a high risk that women will lose our standing economically compared to where we were before the outbreak and that the effect will widen the income and wealth gap between men and women in the long term. Profession cuts, or abdication to doubt, a long-term effect on the wage gap and the skills gap ... companies need to focus on taking measures to retain the women they have, and bring back those women who may have already gone missing. If we do not take measures to retain women in the workplace, the gender gap in leadership will only widen in the coming years.
It has focused on women and money for decades, and the truth is, we now have to take back control of our skills and our money, and move forward with the wage gap regardless of the pandemic.
Ingrid Macintosh, who leads the organization Women and Wealth at TD, said it was better when she said:
“Studies have shown that 90 percent of Canadian women will be the only financial decision makers in their household at some point in their lives, yet many women are also disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Women need the financial services industry now, more than any other. One of the critical factors for bridging the gap is the recognition that there is no one-size-fits-all approach that can be taken to meet the diverse needs of all women, and an understanding that everyone's financial goals look different. The industry needs to prioritize financial literacy programs so that Any woman has the tools she needs to make personal finance decisions with confidence.
By 2026, for the first time, women are expected to control more than 50 percent of Canada's wealth. They start new businesses and get through their organizations at a faster pace.
With this achievement on the horizon, some challenges remain, including the impact of COVID-19 on women. And while the employment rate of Canadian women of working age reached record levels before the pandemic, this progress has been temporarily stalled. According to Statistics Canada data, the pandemic has wiped out 20 years of progress.
I ask International Women's Day on this day not to allow the epidemic to erase the steps that have been made. In fact, let's keep harnessing the uniqueness that we must keep going, so our celebration of 2022 looks a lot different.
Source:
ctv news
