Good morning. I'm Danielle Bélanger, Director of Strategic Policy with the new Department for Women and Gender Equality.
Thank you very much for having me here today. I welcome the opportunity to appear before the committee to talk about senior women in Canada and how our department is working to address some of the challenges they face.
On December 13, 2018, the Department for Women and Gender Equality Act received royal assent, which transformed the former Status of Women Canada into the Department for Women and Gender Equality. This brought with it an expanded mandate for the new department for all matters relating to women and gender equality, including the advancement of social, economic and political equality, with respect to sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression.
The department plays a central policy role in ensuring a more inclusive and equal society for all Canadians, and in the mainstreaming of the gender and diversity lens, also known as gender-based analysis plus, GBA+.
While we have witnessed advances in gender equality in recent years, women and LGBTQ2 communities continue to face social and economic disparities. These challenges become more acute when we account for other diversity factors, such as age. Senior women account for 55% of the senior population of Canada, yet they're among the most vulnerable in the country.
As the population of seniors continues to grow, so have the social and income gaps of Canada's most marginalized and vulnerable populations of seniors. For example, senior women are more likely than men to experience income disparity. Despite the increased participation of women in the labour market over the last several decades, factors such as the persistent gender wage gap, women being more likely to take on part-time and unpaid work, and the burden of caregiving continue to impact the economic participation of women, with lingering economic impacts well into old age.
The challenges that senior women face are further compounded by other intersecting factors, such as race, ethnicity, disability, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, citizenship status and living in a rural or remote area, to name a few. For instance, indigenous women face higher rates of economic insecurity and health challenges. About 49% of indigenous senior women are low-income, and one in ten has reported experiencing food insecurity. We also know that LGBTQ2 adults are at greater risk of physical and mental illness due to discrimination and harassment.
As was mentioned earlier, social isolation is a reality experienced by many seniors, particularly LGBTQ2 seniors. Due to a history of discrimination, exclusion and fear of stigmatization, not all LGBTQ2 seniors wish to come out openly or be included in the LGBTQ2 community. For many, moving into a seniors' residence often means going back into the closet for fear of being misunderstood or mistreated.
While some seniors experience discrimination because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, adding in other forms of discrimination based on age or physical or mental abilities compounds their isolation and vulnerability. This has a direct impact on their health.
Senior women and members of the LGBTQ2 community are also more likely to experience gender-based violence. In 2017, females accounted for over half, or 58%, of senior victims of family violence, and those senior females were most often victimized by a spouse—in 32% of cases. As with homicides in general, the non-family homicide rate was higher for male seniors than for female seniors. In contrast, however, rates of family-related homicides of female seniors were double those of senior males, at 4.4 victims per million.
Our department has worked to address these persistent challenges. In 2017, Canada launched “It's Time: Canada's Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence” to address gaps in support for diverse populations, including seniors. The strategy focuses on three pillars: prevention, support for survivors and their families, and promotion of responsive legal and justice systems.
Again, one of the central policy roles of the Department for Women and Gender Equality is around the mainstreaming of the gender and diversity lens, the gender-based analysis plus, known as GBA+. In this important role, we work to support other federal departments to ensure that policies and programs being implemented consider impacts on all Canadians.
This includes making sure we have appropriate data and research to support decision-making, developing training and tools to facilitate gender-based analysis, and tracking and reporting on progress towards these important goals. To that end, a new survey was launched in 2018, called the “Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces”. The information gathered by the survey will fill an important data gap by providing a more complete and inclusive picture of the realities of gender-based violence in Canada. Results are expected to be published in November 2019.
In order to achieve gender equality for all Canadians, and in every stage of life, we must consider the best ways to support senior women and LGBTQ2 people, while also ensuring we do better to provide the best chances to enable younger women and members of the LGBTQ2 community to successfully transition into older ages.
In closing, I would like to highlight that there is much work to be done in advancing gender equality. The formalization of the Department for Women and Gender Equality presents a historic opportunity to tackle head-on challenges to inclusive social and economic growth.
Again, thank you for the opportunity to speak here today on these important barriers. I would be happy to answer any questions you have.
Thank you.