I think I talked about this earlier on. The experience, particularly of immigrant women, most of whom are racialized, is that they have the responsibility for sexual reproduction in their home, so they have the responsibility of looking after the children. That has a very direct impact on their access to the labour market when opportunities arise.
In one of the studies we were doing over the last five years, we interviewed women who came here. In one case a woman had a master's degree and her husband had an undergraduate degree. They had to determine which of them would seek employment and which would be primarily responsible for sexual reproduction. What was interesting is that they were using temp agencies to get access to employment. Every morning they had to figure out who would go out and who would stay home. More often than not, the man went to work and the woman stayed at home.
The fact that women have what has been referred to as a “double shift”, a responsibility both in the labour market outside and at home, has a direct impact on their ability to earn. It also has a direct impact on their ability to utilize opportunities that may arise. That applies to all women, in some regard. This certainly applies to women who are working class, but the added factor here is the fact of racialization. They are existing at an intersection where the impact of racialization and gendered experience has a compounding effect on their ability to work, to have access to opportunities, as well as to earn.