Status of Women Committee on Feb. 27th, 2024

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

Welcome to meeting number 98 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on the Status of Women.

Today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format pursuant to the Standing Orders. Members are attending in person in the room and remotely using the Zoom application.

Since we do have witnesses online, I am going to go through this. I would like to make a few comments for the benefit of the members and witnesses.

Before speaking, please wait until I recognize you by name. For those participating by video conference, click on the microphone icon to activate your mic, and please mute yourself when you're not speaking. Those in the room, your mic will be controlled by proceedings and verification officer. You may speak in the official language of your choice, and interpretation services are available. You have the choice at the bottom of your screen of floor, English or French. I just want to make sure that everybody is aware of that.

On feedback, I'm just going to remind everybody, if you have your microphone on, make sure you do not put your earpiece close to the microphone as it will cause massive feedback to our translators, and we want to make sure they're in good shape.

I remind you that all comments should be addressed through the chair. With regard to the speaking list, the committee clerk and I will do our best to maintain that.

Today we are coming back to the women's economic empowerment study. Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted by the committee on Thursday, September 21, 2023, the committee will resume its study on economic women's empowerment.

Today we have three guests on our first panel. From the DisAbled Women's Network of Canada, I would like to welcome Bonnie Brayton, who is the chief executive officer. From the Manitoba Possible, we Lindsey Cooke, chief executive officer, and joining her is Jennifer Lusby, who is the chairperson. Online, you will find from YWCA Hamilton, Medora Uppal, the chief executive officer.

Each of you will be provided with five minutes for opening comments, when you see me waving my hands that means to get it done in the next 10 to 15 seconds.

Okay. I'm going to pass the floor over so we can get started with Bonnie.

Bonnie, you have the floor for five minutes.

[Bonnie Brayton, Chief Executive Officer, DisAbled Women's Network of Canada]

Good morning and thank you, Madam Chair.

I would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional territory of the Huron-Wendat and Haudenosaunee peoples here in Ottawa and the unceded Kanien'kéha nation's territory of Tiohtià:ke, also known as Montreal, where both our offices are located, and the gift of our presence on their lands today.

We are in a time of truth and reconciliation, so let us consider the needs of, particularly, indigenous sisters today and how we may make reparations and make their lives better now and for the future generations. For all our Black sisters, we must also do the same.

My speech today is entitled “Aren’t we golden yet—women with disabilities the forgotten majority!” That's because, according to Statistics Canada, women with disabilities make up 30% of all women in Canada. That makes us the largest unserved minority in this country, for anybody who's not aware. With that number in mind, I think it's quite important to think about this larger question around women's economic security coupled with the intersecting discrimination that women with disabilities experience.

The first thing I want to say to everybody here is to budget for the benefit now. I don't know what everybody thinks should happen in the next budget, but please, let's budget for the benefit now. Women with disabilities are urgently waiting for this benefit to be rolled out. The sooner we pass the budget for the benefit, the sooner it will make a difference in the lives of women with disabilities. That is so important, because according to the data we have already, women with disabilities are by far the poorest women in this country, with the highest rates of unemployment and the highest rates of poverty, along with the highest rates of gender-based violence.

According to the Canadian Women’s Foundation report, 23% of women with disabilities live on low incomes. Using the market basket measure statistics report, 11% of women with disabilities live with low income, almost double that of women without disabilities. More than a quarter of women with disabilities who live alone live with a low income as compared with 16.7% of women without disabilities.

Additional factors exacerbating poverty for women and gender-diverse people with disabilities include geographic location—think about transportation and the cost of transportation, please—lack of accessibility for those with severe disabilities and the additional costs of the disability itself. Lest we forget, menstrual equity is for everyone.

Many historically marginalized groups, who also live with higher rates of disability, experience disproportionate rates of poverty. In fact, 31.3% of single mothers, 20.6% of non-binary people and between 12% and 20% of Black and racialized people live in poverty. In 2015, 44% of the on-reserve population in Canada lived in low-income households, in comparison with 14.4% of the total population. That 30% looks more like 35% or 40% for Black and indigenous women, just to be really clear. I'll say it one more time: Budget for the disability benefit now.

On barriers to employment, research conducted by DAWN Canada, in collaboration with Realize, in 2023 found that women and gender-diverse people with disabilities continue to face multi-faceted discrimination to find and keep employment. Women with disabilities perform more than half of all unpaid caregiving in this country, just as a reminder in terms of how that might connect to our unemployment rates. From our research, participants, once employed, showed that they continuously faced a lack of understanding of their disability accommodations by managers and co-workers, often leading to discriminatory attitudes and stereotypes, and of course a problem with retention.

The next item I have to remind everyone about is what's called the national child care strategy. That national child care strategy has until now largely left out children and parents with disabilities. There has been virtually no focus in terms of the resources and funding for the national child care strategy directed at, again, the people who most urgently need access to that.

In terms of some context, because access to early child care services is recognized to support women’s employment retention and progression, it should be prioritized for mothers with disabilities, who face some of the greatest barriers to employment. There should be a commitment to funding and providing resources to early childhood and child care facilities that cater to part-time workers and parents with atypical schedules. This is especially essential to ensure child care for mothers with disabilities, as well as immigrant parents and 2SLGBTQIA families, who are more likely to work part time.

Gender-based violence—

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

Please start wrapping it up.

[Bonnie Brayton]

No problem.

I'll leave off here with something that all of you have heard me talk about a great deal. It is a huge problem. That's gender-based violence and the reality that gender-based violence is one of the reasons that women with disabilities experience higher rates of poverty.

One thing I really want to stress is that those who receive social assistance and disability benefits, especially older women and those living with intellectual and cognitive disabilities, experience financial coercion. We need to think about that as well—

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

That's perfect, Bonnie.

We're going to get right back to you with some questions—

[Bonnie Brayton]

That's fine. No problem.

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

—because I know there's a lot of information we can gather from you, for sure.

I'm now going to pass the floor over to Lindsey and Jennifer.

You have the floor for five minutes.

[Jennifer Lusby, Chairperson, Manitoba Possible]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Good morning, everyone—especially the distinguished members of the committee.

My name is Jennifer Lusby. Lindsey Cooke and I are joining you today from our homes as settlers on Treaty 1 territory. While we reside on Treaty 1 territory, the work of Manitoba Possible extends to Treaties 2, 3, 4 and 5.

“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them,” said Walt Disney.

In the pursuit of our dreams, courage is indispensable. As I sit before you today as chair of Manitoba Possible, I am reminded of the enduring importance of empowering women in positions of leadership. Here in Ottawa, amidst the halls of power and strength of our great nation, I am humbled to join my voice with yours today to advocate for gender parity and the advancement of women in leadership roles—a cause that resonates deeply with me. This moment is not lost on me.

I am grateful for the opportunity to address this esteemed gathering on behalf of Manitoba Possible, a 74-year-old organization that is deeply committed to fostering diversity, equity and inclusion and providing disability services to Manitobans across their lifespans. We join you today as allies of those living with disabilities and are committed to using our voices and power to uplift and champion an equitable and inclusive Manitoba for all.

As a woman occupying the role of chair, I bear both the privilege and the responsibility of championing gender representation in our organizational dynamics. Our steadfast dedication to the 50-30 challenge exemplifies our commitment to achieving gender parity within our ranks. I am proud to share that we have 50% representation of women on our board of directors, a testament to our unwavering commitment to inclusivity, where every voice is valued. Additionally, with two-thirds of our officer positions held by women, we not only break down barriers but also set a precedent for gender-balanced leadership in our sector.

Nevertheless, amidst these milestones we cannot ignore the persistent gender disparities prevalent in boardrooms nationwide. Despite efforts to promote gender diversity, women remain under-represented in leadership positions, particularly in top executive roles. This sobering reality underscores the systemic obstacles impeding the progress of women in leadership and the need for ongoing, proactive measures to address these inequalities.

Achieving true gender equality in our lifetime is possible.

We must continue to move the needle on addressing entrenched inequalities faced by women in the workforce by advocating for resources, fair wages and recognition of the unique and valuable contributions made by women who have come before us, who stand beside us and who are yet to walk along their career journeys.

Thank you for providing us with the opportunity to amplify this critical discussion today.

Together we are stronger.

[Lindsey Cooke, Chief Executive Officer, Manitoba Possible]

Thank you.

My name is Lindsey Cooke, and I'm honoured to join you today as the CEO at Manitoba Possible.

I am proud to represent an organization delivering critical care and social services throughout our province. At Manitoba Possible we employ a workforce of 76% women, with a leadership team of 85% women. However, despite this, I am what we believe is the first female CEO in our organization's 74-year history, demonstrating the ongoing under-representation of women in the C-suite in Canada.

The feminization of care work and social services is well known, as is the long-standing practice of undervaluing that work, particularly when compared to work requiring similar education and responsibility but traditionally held by men. I'd like to underscore that, while your study specifically prioritizes increasing gender representation in the skilled trades and STEM, I urge you not to overlook the dedicated and skilled workforce of the care and social service sector, the majority being women, and our responsibility to ensure that they are compensated fairly for the critical work they do for our country.

The chronic under-resourcing of non-profit organizations delivering care and social services perpetuates the cycle of devaluation. Granting bodies, including the federal government, often have policies that fail to cover reasonable administrative and overhead costs. This means essential supports, such as professional development, access to upgrading and formal mentorship are out of reach for feminized workforces. These policies perpetuate the cycle of devaluation and reinforce the barriers that exist to women attaining access to senior leadership positions and career development.

Additionally, I would like to amplify the comments shared by Bonnie and the DisAbled Women's Network of Canada. Throughout my career and in my current role, I've been a witness to a myriad of barriers, including limited access to employment opportunities, inadequate accommodations in the workplace, increased exposure to violence and exploitation, and social prejudices that compound existing gender disparities and impact women with disabilities. Despite this, disability is often overlooked even during intentional diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

In conclusion, I'd like to extend our deepest appreciation to the committee for providing us with the opportunity to engage in this critical conversation. We must prioritize the needs of women facing intersecting axes of identity to ensure that our efforts towards women's economic empowerment are truly inclusive and representative of all women. The health of the non-profit and social service sector is inextricably linked to women's economic empowerment across our country.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

Thank you so much.

We're now going to go online to Medora Uppal.

Medora, you have the floor for five minutes.

[Medora Uppal, Chief Executive Officer, YWCA Hamilton]

Thank you, Madam Chair and members, for the invitation to speak to you about women’s economic empowerment.

My special thanks to parliamentary secretary Lisa Hepfner, our local Hamilton MP.

Every year at YWCA Hamilton, we serve over 10,000 women, gender-diverse people and families on the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinabe.

At YWCA Hamilton, we believe women are economic drivers and that women’s economic empowerment is critical to Canada’s economy. Women’s economic empowerment should be a national strategy to combat and prevent gender-based violence.

Financial and economic abuse occurs in about 99% of domestic violence cases. Abusers use money as a way to assert power and control. One survey showed that 93% of survivors were not able to access their own money—receiving cash allowances and accounting to abusers for how they spent money—and 86% of respondents to the survey were ordered to quit work, leading to further isolation and financial dependence. I want to share three recommendations to promote women’s economic empowerment.

First, we need bold leadership to promote women’s advancement in non-traditional industries. Women continue to be left behind in STEM and trades, where there is real potential for secure, high-demand jobs with good wages but where progress has been moving at a snail’s pace or there is no progress at all.

For example, despite the vast range of jobs in the manufacturing sector, women’s participation in Ontario has stayed steady at 29%. For more than 40 years, there has been zero growth in women’s participation in the manufacturing sector, and women have maintained the lowest-paying jobs in that sector. We know from experience that it takes innovative programs to support re-skilling and upskilling for women seeking financial independence to care for themselves and their families.

YWCA Hamilton’s uplift program, funded through FedDev Ontario, has seen significant success, supporting 600 women in gaining new skills in data science, analytics, advanced manufacturing and cybersecurity, leading to career advancement and new job opportunities with an average income of $70,000—far above the minimum wage and low-paying jobs typically relegated to women through traditional job programs. Opportunities to re-skill and upskill should be fundamental in supporting women returning to the labour market and for women fleeing violence to build their confidence as well as their earning power.

Second, we need solutions that address the gendered nature of the housing crisis. A lack of safe, affordable, quality housing is one of the largest barriers to economic empowerment, and women cannot be expected to focus on building financial independence when they are facing daily threats of violence.

It’s the reason that YWCAs across the country have asked the government to reinvest $600 million in the women’s shelter and transitional housing initiative. Transitional housing offers faster access to affordable housing with counselling and employment services to rebuild independence and safety and to help give women the time and space they need to heal and move forward. A reinvestment in this housing fund across the country would allow organizations like ours to begin construction on shovel-ready housing designed for women. We encourage the government to continue to recommit 25% of the national housing strategy to women.

Finally, we need to strengthen the care economy. We applaud the government’s work to realize a funded and regulated system of child care and early learning, setting an ambitious target to increase spaces by 250,000. Child care is fundamental to women’s economic success. However, economic empowerment won’t be found for women employed in child care or the care economy, where work is underfunded and employers struggle to meet a living wage.

Eighty per cent of workers in the charitable sector are women, and the lowest-paid and most precarious positions in the care sector or any sector are predominantly held by indigenous, Black, racialized and immigrant women, who face more significant economic barriers. While we strive to see women in non-traditional employment where they have more opportunities for financial independence, we also acknowledge that care work continues to be done by populations of women who are undervalued and underpaid.

The care economy and community services sectors are essential in supporting the overall Canadian economy, but we cannot meaningfully talk about economic empowerment of women if we continue to leave women in the care economy behind.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

Thank you so much to the three of you.

We're now going to start off with our round of questions of six minutes each. We're going to start off with Anna Roberts.

Anna, you have the floor for six minutes.

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you to all the witnesses for being here. This is an important topic, and I'm so happy to have the opportunity to ask some questions.

I'm going to start by sharing a story with you. I'm part of the AODA. I volunteer for our township. I'm proud to say that our township was recently inspected, and we received 100% satisfaction, which makes me happy.

Here's the issue. One individual on our committee has a disability. She is dependent on her service dog. Her husband passed away a few years back, and she has had to rely on public transit to ensure that she is able to get to her appointments in the city. She has the problem that one municipality, one region, doesn't communicate with the other municipality or region, so it takes about four hours for her to get to her doctor's appointment, which, in my point of view, is unacceptable. She's a huge advocate for individuals with disabilities. I think, as a government, we need to analyze this situation.

My first question would go to you, Bonnie. How can the federal government work with provinces and territories to improve the infrastructure in our country so that women with disabilities can ensure that their economic prosperity has the ability to flourish as it does for women without disabilities?

[Bonnie Brayton]

We all want to know how we can get the federal, provincial and territorial governments to work better. I really appreciate what you brought up.

The issue of transportation is so important for women with disabilities across the country. I'm so glad you brought it up. I know of many situations, especially relating to women with disabilities accessing health care, education and employment, and their ability to access those things simply based on the transportation question.

Of course, the Accessible Canada Act does not extend to all forms of transportation. I do think, under the Accessible Canada Act, that we have the beginnings of what we hopefully can see move to provincial and territorial regulations around the changes that need to come into force for full equity in terms of transportation.

I think of your example from your friend and what she experienced. I know of an issue in Montreal that I can give you as an example. Somebody who works for my staff is visually impaired and needs to leave in the wintertime by three o'clock. She's visually impaired, and leaving after three o'clock in the winter puts her at risk. She applied for adapted transportation in Montreal, which, again, is a privilege. Some cities have adapted transportation and some don't. Because her disability was only affecting her part time and in their view it wasn't disabling enough, they refused to provide her with adapted transportation.

In this case, DAWN Canada was able to accommodate her by allowing her to work from home. You can imagine, in many situations, this would quite simply cost her the job. The employment just wouldn't be there because she wouldn't have access to transportation.

I just want to say that I really appreciate the example of transportation. It has a multitude of effects on the ability of women with disabilities to access employment and all the other things that other women take for granted.

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

We meet on a monthly basis. One thing that comes out time and time again is that she feels that, because of her disability, health care professionals are more hesitant to take on her case.

Let's be totally honest. We have a shortage of health care professionals in this country. It's the individuals like.... I would love for you to meet this woman. This woman is totally amazing. What she can do, I can't do, and I have my full sight. She sometimes feels depressed, I guess. She feels that she's not getting the medical attention that someone without disabilities would get.

How can we encourage our government to speed up the process so that we have health care professionals available to everyone—people with disabilities or without disabilities? That is a serious issue in this country right now. Do you have any suggestions for us?

[Bonnie Brayton]

I think there's a lot of work to do around educating people to start with. Certainly, a big component of DAWN Canada's work is educating people about the kinds of situations that you're describing. Again, we can start with an example by leading at the federal level and showing the provinces and territories.

Again, the issue of health care and access to health care is a complicated one because it's not under federal jurisdiction. I would say that some of the more recent negotiations that the federal government has had to undertake around gender-based violence and the new dental program, all of these are examples of provincial, territorial and federal governments working together.

I would like to start a laundry list with you of the key social determinants of health that are impacting the ability of women with disabilities to have access to health care, housing, employment and safety. It is unfortunately leading to many women beginning to think, instead, about accessing MAID.

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

That's one of the—

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

Your six minutes are over. I'm sorry.

[Anna Roberts, Conservative, King—Vaughan, ON]

Are you sure your clock is working?

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

Yes, I'm pretty sure. You are just asking such good questions, that's all.

I'm now going to pass it over to Lisa.

You have the floor for six minutes.

[Lisa Hepfner, Liberal, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you to all of our witnesses for your testimony today. It's really important that we hear your stories, get them on the record and figure out how to make our country even better.

I'm going to turn to my friend, Medora Uppal, from YWCA Hamilton.

Thank you for joining us, Medora. Your testimony was really important.

As you know, I have a friend who is a child care provider with YWCA Hamilton. I remember when the child care deal with Ontario was reached. We were crying, talking about the stories of women who were getting this money back in their bank accounts. They didn't realize where it was from and were just so relieved. They could pay their mortgages. So much more freedom suddenly opened up to them.

However, the work is not done. As you've outlined in your opening statement, there is still more work to do. Part of it is ensuring that early childhood education is a respected and well-paid career, equal to its value to us as a society.

When we formed this agreement with Ontario, there was a commitment by the province to develop a wage framework for ECEs, to commit to its implementation, to set a wage floor and to institute wage improvements. I know that YWCA has always paid ECEs a little better than the average, but perhaps you could talk to us about how this part of the agreement has been rolling out, any questions or concerns you have about it and perhaps any suggestions you have on how we could make that work more quickly and better.

[Medora Uppal]

Through the chair, thank you very much for the question.

I think there is a lot more work that we need to do to get this national child care program rolled out properly. The wage floor issue is a critical one for us in Ontario, and I know it's affecting other provinces as well.

What happened in Ontario was that it took a long time to get the wage floor set, and it continues to be very low. The dollar amount undervalues the work of early childhood education and child care workers. We have workers continuing to struggle through poverty. The cost of living and the wage floor don't match at all. People are struggling to pay their rent. We know that staff are accessing food banks. We know that staff in child care are looking at eviction notices because they can't pay their rent. The problem is that there is just not enough being done to push at the provincial level to move the wages up.

We are seeing that we actually can't create the spaces that were intended through the strategy because we can't hire people. We are really struggling to recruit and retain individuals in child care. We're seeing a huge downswing in the number of people applying and entering at the college level into the child care field. Certainly when they're getting out of it, they're looking at the wages, they're looking at their rent and they're thinking that they can't afford to work in the child care sector.

We are not drawing people in. Someone mentioned the health care sector earlier. It's experiencing its own particular challenges. The child care sector is far lower paid than the health care sector. The challenges are very real.

I worry that the expansion of the child care strategy and rolling it out as it was intended and designed will take a lot longer or not happen at all. We're already starting to see non-profit child care providers looking at closing down, not stepping up to open additional spaces, or shutting down their infant care programs, which are so critical within the child care sector, because they can't afford to operate. They can't hire people and they can't pay the bills.

The rollout of the funding formula is not working in Ontario. It needs to change and it needs to change faster than planned. Right now, we don't know what it's going to look like for 2024. We're still waiting for information from the Ontario government.

[Lisa Hepfner, Liberal, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

We know how important child care is to women's economic empowerment. When we rolled out this plan across the country, we saw a dramatic increase in women's participation in the workforce. I think we're at the top among the G7 countries in terms of women's economic participation.

I was interested to hear you say that we are still stagnating when it comes to STEM and manufacturing sector jobs for women. Would you elaborate on that a bit more?

[Medora Uppal]

Absolutely. In the STEM and the skilled trades spaces, there hasn't been the investment made in making them safe spaces and inviting for women.

What we're seeing in engineering alone is that we have graduation groups that are about 40% women. I think at McMaster this year, half of the new entries into engineering are women. What's happening is about five to 10 years into engineering, women are leaving the sector and we're hearing horrible stories about discrimination, no space being created, what we call the quieter forms of discrimination, and the lack of leadership at the top level. Somebody—

[The Chair, Conservative, Karen Vecchio]

Thank you so much. I'm sure there will be lots of opportunities to get back to that.

We're going to move over to Andréanne Larouche. You have six minutes.