Thank you on behalf of the 3.2 million members of the Canadian Labour Congress. As you know, our organization represents Canada's national and international unions, along with provincial and territorial federations of labour and 130 district labour councils. Our members work in virtually all sectors of the Canadian economy, in all occupations, in all parts of Canada.
If we want to improve the economic prospects for Canadian girls, then we need to take a close look at the economic reality for Canadian women. Women make up almost half of Canada's workforce. Women work in every sector of the economy, yet women still experience inequality and discrimination in society and in workplaces. The gap between women's and men's wages has been stuck between 70% to 72% for the last three decades. The gap is wider for older women, aboriginal women, disabled women, and racialized women.
Much of our employment remains concentrated in so-called female jobs, the service sector or the caring and helping professions. Women are still poorly represented in the skilled trades and in senior management positions. Women are much more likely than men to work part-time, to hold down more than one job, and to work in precarious jobs. This means there are more women working with fewer benefits and little or no workplace pensions.
Only 33% of unemployed women qualify for employment insurance benefits. If you don't qualify for EI, you don't have access to maternity, parental, compassionate, or sick leaves.
Women are under tremendous pressure to balance work and family life, whether it's caring for children, looking after aging, disabled, or sick relatives, or contributing to their community. Without strong public services, many women pay the price by interrupting their careers or settling for part-time or precarious work to make ends meet while caring for their family.
Now we are facing a climate of austerity, which threatens public sector jobs, a source of good jobs for women. The loss of these jobs will be devastating not only for the families that rely on them, but for the services that women across Canada depend on. That's the economic reality for women today, and it's going to become the reality for Canadian girls if we don't take concerted action.
Young women in Canada face an economic deck that seems to be stacked against them. You may hear from other witnesses about Canada's success in educating young women. What you might not hear is that gender equality in education does not necessarily lead to better opportunities for young women entering the workforce, nor does it seem to lead to improved economic prospects over their working lives. The reasons for this include high student debt, precarious work, lack of child care, and wage inequality.
We're recommending seven key areas where the government could act to improve economic prospects for Canadian girls.
First, address under-employment and precarious work. Canadian youth were and are among those most affected by the economic downturn and remain overwhelmingly better educated, badly paid, and under-employed. Women in Canada are much more likely than men to work part-time, hold down more than one job, and work in precarious jobs. And young women are among the most likely to work in part-time or temporary work.
While some may hold those jobs because they want to, still more are working more than full-time by combining more than one precarious job, or they would like to work more but cannot find affordable child care.
Girls and women need access to decent work—work that is productive and delivers a fair income—security in the workplace, and social protection for families, and they need better prospects for personal development and social integration. There needs to be freedom for people to express their concerns, to organize, and to participate in the decisions that affect their lives, and we need equality of opportunity and treatment for all women and men.
Our second recommendation is to close the wage gap. The government must implement the recommendations of the pay equity task force. We don't need to say any more than that.
Third, get serious about child care. Research has shown that investments in child care increase labour market participation, improve gross domestic product, and support vibrant local communities. Only one in five Canadian children has access to licensed regulated child care, yet 70% of Canadian mothers are in the paid workforce.
Something is wrong with this picture, and it can only be addressed if the federal government works with the provinces to establish a pan-Canadian early childhood education and care system that is non-profit, public, high-quality, accessible, inclusive, affordable, and provides adequate compensation to Quebec for the system it is already providing.
It's not just the right thing to do; it's the smart and fiscally responsible thing to do.
Fourth is to invest in public services. Privatization and contracting out of public sector jobs pose a threat to good stable jobs for women, and it is not fiscally responsible. The loss of public services in communities means young women end up taking on more and more unpaid work. It means less money in local economies. Now is not the time to be cutting back if we want to improve economic prospects for Canadian girls.
Five is to prioritize retirement security. Current debates over changes to public pensions and old age security are particularly troubling. While retirement security may appear to be of concern only to Canada's older population, it is the current generation of young and future workers who will be the most impacted by any changes. It is ironic that youth are being told it is in their interest to cut back on OAS when they are earning less for longer, are more in debt than ever before, and when it's clear that private savings schemes are not enough. It's not gold-plated to be able to retire in dignity, and it is unfair to take this very basic right away from young workers in the interest of short-term economic gain.
Six is to ensure access to education and training and reduce student debt. It's unacceptable that Canadian students need to take on a lifetime of debt to get an education, especially when those credentials don't mean better jobs after they graduate. Tuition fees in Canada have far exceeded the rate of inflation over the past two decades. Today average student debt now stands at $27,000. Because there is no coherent national policy for post-secondary education, policies dealing with access and funding differ dramatically from province to province. Canada-wide, almost 430,000 students were forced to borrow in order to finance their education. By 2013, Canadian student debt will hit $13 billion.
We must also consider increasing opportunities for young women to access skills training and embark on careers in trades and technology. The government can promote women in these career paths by supporting youth apprenticeship and school-to-work transition programs; funding employability training programs and bridging programs, which encourage women to retrain for work in trades and technology; and by supporting women's needs while they're in training or apprenticeship. Once they start their careers, we need to develop a workplace culture that supports women, accommodates work-life balance, and ensures that we include a gender focus in workforce development programs.
Seven is to address the disproportionate levels of poverty, unemployment, and violence among aboriginal women and women with disabilities. The challenges facing both of these vulnerable populations are well documented. Aboriginal girls and girls with disabilities would both benefit from better employment, equity policies and practices, specific programs for access to education, training, and employment, and a national action plan to end violence against women.
Finally, the text of this motion creating this study asks what changes can be made by Status of Women Canada to its approach. The most fundamental change that needs to be made is the approach to funding women's organizations. With no core funding and no funding for research, policy development, or advocacy, the ability for women's organizations to propose innovative solutions to improving economic realities for women and girls is seriously diminished. Funding for research and advocacy must be restored, and a lack of core funding needs to be addressed.
To improve economic prospects for Canadian girls, Canada needs to make a real commitment to women's equality. Our future depends on it.
Thank you. My apologies to the interpreters if I tore along.
