Since the pandemic started, women continue to face challenges in the work-force from childcare to inflexible work environments, according to the Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce.
On International Women’s day, The Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce and the Ontario Chamber of Commerce are calling people to action by contacting their local municipal leaders and asking them to work on supporting and creating a recovery plan for women who have been impacted by the pandemic in the upcoming provincial and federal budgets. It is using #ChooseToChallenge to spread awareness.
“These aren’t simply women’s issues,” said Heather Johnson, Executive Director of the Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce. “They are economic issues. For the Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce, #ChooseToChallenge means applying both legislative and social solutions to the challenges faced by women in the workplace, many of which have been amplified by the pandemic.”
In the Ontario Chamber of Commerce’s recent report called The She-Covery Project: Confronting the Gendered Economic Impacts of COVID-19 in Ontario, it recommends changes that need to be made to improve employment for women in Ontario. In the report, it said the pandemic has heightened existing inequality for certain groups of women such as racialized women, Indigenous women, immigrant women, single mothers, women with disabilities and those living in rural areas.
Claudia Dessanti, the report’s author, said the economic impacts were immediate for women in Ontario bringing women’s labour force participation to a record low. The report shows in March of 2020, women between the ages of 25 and 54 lost more than twice as many jobs as men in Ontario.
Since then, the employment recovery has been slower compared to men. According to the report, between the months of April and August employment gains in Ontario were 200,200 for men and only 131,700 for women.
According to the Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce, the current public-sector request for proposal processes are driven by cost consideration which does not reward companies with strong diversity and inclusion models. To change, it said the Governments of Ontario and Canada need to adjust its process in a way that supports inclusivity through creating opportunities for diverse entrepreneurs and suppliers that support inclusivity.
“#ChooseToChallenge means that we must continue to improve the alignment between public policy and economic outcomes,” added Rocco Rossi, president and CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. “Breaking down barriers women face will lead to new economic activity and growth: more female entrepreneurs mean more wealth generation, more women in the skilled trades mean more opportunities to build, and more women in decision-making roles mean more inclusive outcomes.”
