Social Problem Resolved?
Ever since the late 19th century to the present day, there is no doubt that women's economic state has drastically improved. Women are now currently allowed to hold occupations they could never even think of holding like fields in medicine and law. However, despite the great improvement for women, there are still many barriers in Canada for women wanting to hold higher positions in the work force. Even in the present time, many professions are still mostly dominated by males such as engineering and many other scientific fields.
After the two world wars and the Great Depression, many people, specifically trade unionists were still uncomfortable with the idea of women working. Then, in the mid-20th century drastic changes were beginning to be made to help improve the women's financial positions. In 1951, 22% of the labour force was composed of women and the Female Labour Force Participation Rate was 24%. New jobs were being created specifically for women due to the expansion in health, welfare and educational services, the emphasis on construction and on research and development from the government and private industries, and the need to advertise, sell and finance new products. [1]
Then came the Women's Movement in the late 1960s, started by Canadian women to redefine their social, economic, legal and political standings in society and to gain the equality and justice that they deserve. One of the biggest issues that this movement dealt with revolved around greater equality in wages and working conditions. It wasn't until the 1980s when this issue was addressed in the Royal Commission on Equality in Employment in 1984, which gave a handful of recommendations on ways to bring forward equal pay for work of equal value for both genders. Employment equity and pay equity were already major concerns for employees, unions and the government. In response to this social problem, many programs were established to eliminate this gender discrimination by promoting women into specific levels and types of jobs that they have been greatly excluded from so far. [2] The demand for equal pay in paid work also led to the discussion of allowing unpaid work, such as work done at home, to be rewarded and also considered as "work." From this came forward the Wages for Housework Movement, which later on helped products and services only available in private households to be obtained through purchase on the market. [3]
In the late 20th century, women were rising in the work force. By 1993, the gap between women's wages and men's wages slightly declined to 72% and in 1994, women made up 43% of the total labour force in Canada while the FLFPR (the Female Labour Force Participation Rate) had risen to 52%. [4] Nevertheless, the improvement wasn't powerful enough to truly resolve the social issue of women's economic rights.
Even though many organizations and movements have been dedicated to solving this social problem, women are still in a much lower economic state than their male counterparts. By 1995, the woman was the breadwinner in one out of every 5 couples but her salary still average to be 30% less than her unemployed husband. Around the same time, the poverty rate for single mothers was ranked second highest in comparison to countries of similar industries despite the fact that "workfare" for welfare mothers were being introduced in BC, Alberta and Ontario. As for working mothers, among comparable industrial companies, maternity leave and day care were also far less generous in Canada. [5]
The reason this social problem has not been resolved yet is mostly due to government services being cut. With the amount of government services decreasing, the lack of care for children, the elderly, the disabled and the unemployed increases. Unfortunately, women are then the ones who are still considered to be responsible for this type of work. [6] For example, in April 2013, Alberta Human Services ended the Quality Enhancement Grant. This grant provided $7,500 and $4,000, respectively, for approved childcare centres as well as for authorized before and after-school programs. [7] This means that mothers must now stay home and look after their children at the cost of their own financial positions. Taking away programs like child care is detrimental to women's economic standings as currently, only 73% of mothers with children between the ages 0-6 are getting paid in the work force. [8] If women are going to achieve equality within the work force, not only is affordable child care crucial, but the Canadian government and private companies need to start imposing better services and a better system for equal pay towards women.
After the two world wars and the Great Depression, many people, specifically trade unionists were still uncomfortable with the idea of women working. Then, in the mid-20th century drastic changes were beginning to be made to help improve the women's financial positions. In 1951, 22% of the labour force was composed of women and the Female Labour Force Participation Rate was 24%. New jobs were being created specifically for women due to the expansion in health, welfare and educational services, the emphasis on construction and on research and development from the government and private industries, and the need to advertise, sell and finance new products. [1]
Then came the Women's Movement in the late 1960s, started by Canadian women to redefine their social, economic, legal and political standings in society and to gain the equality and justice that they deserve. One of the biggest issues that this movement dealt with revolved around greater equality in wages and working conditions. It wasn't until the 1980s when this issue was addressed in the Royal Commission on Equality in Employment in 1984, which gave a handful of recommendations on ways to bring forward equal pay for work of equal value for both genders. Employment equity and pay equity were already major concerns for employees, unions and the government. In response to this social problem, many programs were established to eliminate this gender discrimination by promoting women into specific levels and types of jobs that they have been greatly excluded from so far. [2] The demand for equal pay in paid work also led to the discussion of allowing unpaid work, such as work done at home, to be rewarded and also considered as "work." From this came forward the Wages for Housework Movement, which later on helped products and services only available in private households to be obtained through purchase on the market. [3]
In the late 20th century, women were rising in the work force. By 1993, the gap between women's wages and men's wages slightly declined to 72% and in 1994, women made up 43% of the total labour force in Canada while the FLFPR (the Female Labour Force Participation Rate) had risen to 52%. [4] Nevertheless, the improvement wasn't powerful enough to truly resolve the social issue of women's economic rights.
Even though many organizations and movements have been dedicated to solving this social problem, women are still in a much lower economic state than their male counterparts. By 1995, the woman was the breadwinner in one out of every 5 couples but her salary still average to be 30% less than her unemployed husband. Around the same time, the poverty rate for single mothers was ranked second highest in comparison to countries of similar industries despite the fact that "workfare" for welfare mothers were being introduced in BC, Alberta and Ontario. As for working mothers, among comparable industrial companies, maternity leave and day care were also far less generous in Canada. [5]
The reason this social problem has not been resolved yet is mostly due to government services being cut. With the amount of government services decreasing, the lack of care for children, the elderly, the disabled and the unemployed increases. Unfortunately, women are then the ones who are still considered to be responsible for this type of work. [6] For example, in April 2013, Alberta Human Services ended the Quality Enhancement Grant. This grant provided $7,500 and $4,000, respectively, for approved childcare centres as well as for authorized before and after-school programs. [7] This means that mothers must now stay home and look after their children at the cost of their own financial positions. Taking away programs like child care is detrimental to women's economic standings as currently, only 73% of mothers with children between the ages 0-6 are getting paid in the work force. [8] If women are going to achieve equality within the work force, not only is affordable child care crucial, but the Canadian government and private companies need to start imposing better services and a better system for equal pay towards women.