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The elusive work-life balance is still out of reach for many women who are still paid less than men, take their work home and carry the burden of far more than half of all housework and childcare, Centre for Policy Alternatives Senior Researcher Kate McInturff told the opening of the Unifor Women’s Conference.
In a funny, pointed and informative presentation, McInturff talked about how women still make approximately 70 cents on the dollar, compared to male counter parts. This equates to an extra 13 years of work before retirement.
“We know we can achieve gender equality, it’s not a dream, it’s a goal,” said McInturff. She urged women to have high expectations for what’s possible. “I’m interested in raising the bar of what policy makers can do for us. It’s our government, our values and it should look like us.”
She also took on the issue of poor parental supports particularly around parental leave and how it can equate to women dropping out of the workforce. The single greatest indicator for who will leave the workforce is earning potential, said McInturff and with the persistent wage gap, it means that women are disproportionately using the parental leave and earning even less while on it.
When it comes to parental leave, women take six months where men take 2.5 weeks. McInturff advocated for a meaningful income replacement for parents, with particular programs specifically for men that would encourage them to take time. In Quebec, where such a program exists, 76 per cent of fathers take parental leave, wherein only 26 per cent of fathers do in the rest of the country.
McInturff is the director of the CCPA’s initiative on gender equality and policy making, Making Women Count and is the past Executive Director of the Feminist Alliance for International Action and sits on the UN Advisory Group on Inequalities in the Post Millennium Development Goals framework.
https://www.policyalternatives.ca/projects/making-women-count
