Last weekend, I spoke at a community event celebrating International Women’s Day in Vancouver. It got me thinking about the status of women in the Canadian economy, reflecting both on the successes over the last half century and on the areas where work is still needed to achieve gender equality. As a young woman in [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Women'
Women in the Canadian Economy
March 8th, 2010 · Iglika Ivanova · 6 Comments · Children & youth, Economy, Women
Tags: gender inequality·Women
The catch-22 of low-income benefits that are phased out quickly
October 9th, 2009 · Iglika Ivanova · 8 Comments · Children & youth, Employment & labour, Housing & homelessness, Poverty, inequality & welfare, Provincial budget & finance, Taxes, Women
My friend Emily is a single mom. She works full time for a salary that keeps her and her child above the poverty line but doesn’t allow for much more. Her income is low enough that she qualifies for temporary relief from paying her student loans (which are massive even though she is yet to [...]
The recent secretive, haphazard spending cuts should be repealed
September 23rd, 2009 · Iglika Ivanova · No Comments · Children & youth, Economy, Education, Provincial budget & finance, Transparency & accountability, Women
Almost daily we wake up to news of yet another important program or initiative whose funding has been cut by the BC government. Literacy initiatives, high school sports, programs that protect women and children from violence, arts and culture: hardly an area of social service provision has been spared. These cuts have been devastating to [...]
Tags: accountability·budget·children·deficit·role of government·service cuts·Women
BC government should heed its own report on childcare
May 7th, 2009 · Iglika Ivanova · No Comments · BC Election 2009, Children & youth, Economy, Employment & labour, Poverty, inequality & welfare, Women
Do you remember the 2008 Throne Speech in which the provincial government launched a feasibility study on providing full day kindergarten for 5 year-olds and extending full day preschool options to younger children as well? Here’s a refresher: A new Early Childhood Learning Agency will be established. It will assess the feasibility and costs of [...]
Tags: childcare·children·early childhood education·Early Childhood Learning Agency·kindergarten·teachers·Women
Why young children’s education and care are not priorities in this election
May 7th, 2009 · Iglika Ivanova · No Comments · BC Election 2009, Children & youth, Economy, Education, Women
It seems clear that policy-makers in this province (and country, for that matter) are not prepared to invest in a quality early education and childcare system, despite the proven benefits for children. The reasons have got to be political, as the economic case for investing in early childhood education and care has already been made [...]
Tags: baby boomers·campaign·childcare·children·early childhood education·feminism·gender inequality·health promotion·intergenerational justice·Paul Kershaw·Paul Krugman·seniors·Women
BC's child care crisis IS an election issue
April 30th, 2009 · Rita Chudnovsky · 1 Comment · BC Election 2009, Children & youth, Economy
The provincial election is off and running, and once again families and communities know that childcare should be a high priority for every candidate in every riding. After eight years of failed policies, ad hoc decisions, and inadequate funding, B.C. childcare is in a crisis. Just ask any young family about their struggle to find [...]
Reflections on the Citizens’ Assembly
April 30th, 2009 · Marc Lee · No Comments · BC Election 2009, Electoral reform
One of the most interesting stories behind BC’s Single Transferable Vote referendum is how we got there. The Citizen’s Assembly on Electoral Reform ran for a year, a fascinating exercise in deliberative democracy, and perhaps the most interesting and forward-looking thing done by the Liberals in their first term. Wendy Bergerud was a CA member [...]
Tags: BC Citizens' Assembly·deliberative democracy·Electoral reform·Fair Vote Canada·Fair Voting BC·FPTP·MMP·Wendy Bergerud·Women
March unemployment hits women and young
April 10th, 2009 · Keith Reynolds · No Comments · BC Election 2009, Economy, Employment & labour
There is an interesting side story to the information that came out last week showing a big jump in unemployment in BC. Almost all of the increase was among two groups – women and young people. The overall unemployment rate jumped from 6.7% to 7.4%. The increase for men over the age of 25 was [...]
Tags: unemployment·Women
IWD commitments on my wish list
March 5th, 2009 · Adrienne Montani · No Comments · BC Election 2009, Children & youth, Employment & labour, Poverty, inequality & welfare, Women
With International Women’s Day on the horizon this weekend, I’m looking for some commitments. Women are over-represented in low-wage work. So which party in the upcoming election will commit to an investment in BC’s social capital through a living wage policy for the public sector, including public contractors? Stimulating the local economy and adding to [...]
Tags: childcare·children·living wage·Women
Infrastructure – more than just 'guy jobs'
January 21st, 2009 · Rita Chudnovsky · No Comments · BC Election 2009, Children & youth, Women
Now that almost everyone seems to agree that public spending on infrastructure is a good idea - it’s time for another paradigm shift. Across the political continuum, infrastructure talk is still all about roads, bridges, and transit – sectors that overwhelmingly employ men. But, to stimulate the economy, surely we need to invest in both social and physical infrastructure. Lets take [...]
