Reports released in the last week suggest women’s economic progress in Canada has stalled.
The high-profile successes of some prominent, predominantly white, professional women may have obscured the broader trends. While some of us have moved forward, many have been left behind.
A report to the UN on the Status of Canadian Women in Canada documents “systemic erosion” of women’s position in recent years. In 2006, Canada was 14th among 115 countries in the World Forum’s gender gap index, but by 2009 we had slipped to 25th. Citing Stats Canada, the report notes that the wage gap between men and women steadily declined for three decades and then stagnated in 2000. Women employed full-time earned 75 per cent of what men earned in 1980, rising to 79 per cent in 1990 and 85 per cent in 2000 and stuck there in spite of a steady increase in the proportion of women graduating from university.
While these trends are troubling, the gaps for visible minority, aboriginal and disabled women are simply appalling. In addition, more than one-third of Canadian single mothers live below the poverty line at the same time that the advancement of women is being touted as a centepiece in our international development strategies.
Another study by the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) shows that while the proportion of female faculty and senior administrators has increased, women earn 82 per cent of their male counterparts, a difference not explained by differences in education or experience.
In many circles, feminism, the forbidden “F” word, is considered passé. The closing of 75 per cent of our Status of Women offices across the country occurred not with a bang, but a whimper. Many professional women are satisfied enough with their progress not to make waves and many young women do not see the problems, at least not until they get into the workplace (if my daughter’s experience is any indication).
I began my career decades ago surrounded by less qualified men earning more than me in offices decorated with scantily-clad women and seeped in sexist banter. Certainly I would agree that we have come a long way — the scantily clad women and sexist banter are mostly gone. But while the wage gap has diminished it has not disappeared and if the patterns outlined in these reports persist, the progress we have made may be in jeopardy.
