The labour market is in a ‘She-cession’; is the Ford government neglecting working women?

BY JANIECE CAMPBELL

As COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc on the economy, there’s a noticeable impact on a certain demographic. Women, especially mothers.

A mid-2020 study from the Royal Bank of Canada reported that approximately 1.5 million Canadian women had lost their jobs within the first two months and accounted for about 45% of the decline in hours worked. In the beginning, the figures seemed to be evenly split between unemployed men and women, but a clear divergence was seen once men were being rehired as certain industries opened up again whereas many women were forced to quit due to a lack of childcare options once schools closed down.

Since April 2020, immediate employment impacts were most severe in female-dominated industries such as hospitality and food services, recreation, retail and education services. This has resulted in the women’s labour force participation plummeting to low levels that society has not seen in over thirty years.

Not to mention, women of colour in particular are facing far higher unemployment rates than white women. According to Statistics Canada, the unemployment rate for minority women was 10.5% in November, compared to 6.2% for white women. Women of colour also had a slightly higher unemployment rate in comparison to their male counterparts at 10%.

“Women have been the loudest voices in the room, desperately pushing the government for changes to prevent a second wave of the COVID-19 virus. The impact on black, Indigenous and racialized women of colour and low-income women has been devastating,” said MPP and NDP Women’s Issues & Culture Critic, Jill Andrew in an op-ed for NOW Magazine. “Ontario’s post-pandemic recovery must include – to name a few things – investment in public education and childcare, more affordable housing, and legislated pay equity to address the gender pay gap. Without an intersectional feminist recovery, the yawning inequities in our society which existed long before COVID-19  will only get worse.”

Catherine Fife, the NDP’s Economic Growth and Job Creation Critic, says that according to Statistics Canada, November’s job numbers reflect a lack of support from the Ford government for women getting back into the workforce.

“Doug Ford failed to cap class sizes and protect our schools from COVID-19 because he didn’t want to spend the money on hiring more educators, and now he’s refusing to expand the testing of students and staff that he should have done months ago. We see a growing number of outbreaks in schools as the virus spreads, and it’s left working women anxious about their kids’ safety with impossible choices as they juggle their responsibilities. For many, returning to work just isn’t an option.

Every month, the Ford government sees evidence that women are being disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but they haven’t proposed any supports that will directly support women in re-entering the workforce. Last month’s budget contained no new money for education or childcare centres.”

Prior to Premier Ford being elected, he ranked least trustworthy among women, according to data from CBC’s Vote Compass survey. The results, derived from a total of 83,673 people, in which 42% were women, revealed Ford’s average score was 1.6 out of 10, with 59% of all women scoring him at zero out of 10. Already facing over two years’ worth of scepticism from women across the province, now is the time that the government needs to make appropriate investments in social services, or we will see devastating consequences for our economy and a threat of wiping out decades of progress for a generation of women.

“Without a she-covery, Ontario’s economy will continue to falter. The Ford government needs to invest in women and their families as the priority by expanding access to childcare and making our schools safer. This will allow women to get back to their jobs and drive the economic growth that our province desperately needs,” concluded Catherine Fife.