Re: Action Plan on Women in the Economy Taskforce

The underlying conditions of economic inequality such as low wages, precarious employment, and a lack of labour protections in women-majority fields (retail and service roles, the care sector, and the nonprofit sector) have contributed to challenging employment conditions for women concentrated in essential occupations on the frontlines of the pandemic. [...] However, the success of this taskforce will be contingent on its composition and mandate, where it is housed in government, the financial resources it is given, and the ongoing commitment of the government to take up the taskforce’s recommendations. [...] Solely focusing on “business, boards, entrepreneurship, and STEM” as a pathway to women’s economic empowerment is ignoring the immediate needs of women workers marginalized by the pandemic and the centrality of care to the well-being of society and the economy. [...] L’expérience et l’expertise d’organisations diverses œuvrant pour les droits des femmes et pour la justice économique de tout le pays apporteront une contribution inestimable au groupe de travail de votre gouvernement pour agir sur la base des expériences vécues par les femmes de tous les horizons. [...] The Canadian Partnership for Women and Children's Health (CanWaCH) The Redwood The Windsor Women Working With Immigrant Women The Women's Centre of Halton The Women's Legal Education and Action Fund Inc.