Issues in Human Services (HMNS 10085)

Module 4: Issues Pertaining to Women

Defining Gender Inequality

• Unequal treatment or opportunities• Unequal outcomes• Division of labour -

– Women dominate work in private sphere> in the home or caregiving roles

– Men dominate work in public sphere> paid, labour market employment, politics

• Public sphere tends to be more valued than the private

Sexism

• Belief in the inferiority of women

• Patriarchy - belief in the inferiority of women has led to our society being organized around prioritizing male interests

• Gender expectations > socially constructed

Struggle For Gender Equality: Royal Commission on the Status of Women

• 1960s - consciousness raising

• Led to federal inquiry > Royal Commission on the Status of Women

• Many of the 170 recommendations made in this commission have not been implemented– > gender equality in Canada remains unrealized

The Struggle For Gender Equality: Employment Equity

• The Employment Equity Act, 1986 • Federally regulated places of employment, women

(as well as Aboriginal peoples, people with disabilities, or are members of a visible minority) not only given equal consideration for employment opportunities, but to be hired, where qualified, when competing with a male for a job

• Workplace should reflect the population

The Struggle For Gender Equality: Beijing Platform for Action

• 1995

• Sustainable societies could only be achieved through achieving equality between men & wome

• Canada is a signatory to this action plan

Gender Inequality & Other “Isms”

• Second wave of the women’s movement of the 1960s & 70s - predominantly a white women’s movement– Minority women, Aboriginal women, women

with disabilities, & LGBTQ women as distinct groups of women didn’t tend to be included

• Also experience other forms of inequality & oppression such as: racism, ethnocentrism, heterosexism and ablism.

What gains towards equality have been made?

• Women are achieving higher levels of education

• Rate of men earning university degrees has not kept pace with women

• Women more likely to earn a College diploma

• Despite this, women with university degrees earn less than their male counterparts

What gains towards equality have been made?

• More women are working in the paid work force

• More mothers with children under 16 are working in the paid work force

• More women work part time than men

• The number of women in management has increased

Where women haven’t achieved equality in the work force:

• Women are still more likely to be working in traditionally “female jobs” of caring professions (eg. nursing), clerical or sales and service jobs

• More management level jobs are in lower management rather than upper management

• Women newcomers to Canada - less likely to be employed than women born in Canada

Feminization of Poverty

• Women are more likely to live in poverty than men• Gendered wage gap - the difference in total

average income between men and women• 2008 - in all age groups, a gendered wage gap

exists > women earned 64% of the total incomes of men

• Comparing women working full-time, full-year, the wage gap was 71%

• Comparing hourly wages, women still earned on average 83.3% of men

Feminization of Poverty

• Gendered wage gap has lessened over the past few decades

• 1981 - women earned 53.2% as much total average earnings as men

• 1991 - increased to 60.1%• Alternate reasons?

– Men are not doing we well in the labour market– Unionization for men has decreased– Men are occupying fewer management level jobs

Feminization of Poverty

• Women still have primary responsibility for caregiving to children

• 2010 - women spent an average of 50.1 hours per week providing care to children 14 & younger– More than double that of men (24.4 hours)

• In dual income earning families, women worked 49.8 hrs/week providing care to children while men provided 27.2 hours.

Feminization of Poverty

• Women tend to be responsible for other unpaid work in households, even when both members in a heterosexual couple work full time: – 13.8 hours/week on domestic housework

– Men spend 8.6 hours/week

• 14% of women & 9% of men provide care to an older adult outside of their homes– 49% of these women provide >10 hours/week

– 25% of men provide > 10 hours/week

Feminization of Poverty

• Consequences of having primary responsibility for unpaid childcare, housework and care of older adults:– Higher expectation on women to reduce paid work

(quitting, taking emergency time off or leaves, refuse promotions) to provide care

– Less pay, less accumulation of retirement benefits, less career advancement & opportunities for pay increases

– More stress to balance these responsibilities

Barriers to Workforce Participation: Day Care

• Royal Commission on the Status of Women recommended a national child care program

• There is still not a universal child care program 40 years after this recommendation was made

Day Care

• Early Years Report• “…critical periods for which children required

appropriate stimulation to establish neural pathways in the brain for optimum development.”

• If not received, children are more at risk for behavioural difficulties, learning problems, & potentially, interactions with the criminal justice system

• May also be more at risk for later chronic health issues

Other Recommendations From “Early Years”:

1. The establishment of an early learning and parenting program for the early years that utilizes play-based learning to optimize development

2. The establishment of local planning committees to oversee local development of these programs

3. Collaboration with school boards in the provision of these programs

4. Integrate kindergarten into this framework5. Provide training for early childhood educators and all educators

on the new findings regarding brain development in the early years.

6. Extend maternity/parental leaves up to one year7. The fostering of family friendly workplaces

Early Learning and Child Care

• An early learning and child care program was proposed by the Canadian governmet of Paul Martin in the early 2000s– Agreement with the provinces was reached in 2005 to

establish a national early learning and child care system

• 2006, new government favoured a direct payment to parents of $100 per child per month > Universal Child Care Benefit– Highly criticised

Current State of Child Care in Canada

• ~80% of child care is provided in unregulated or informal settings

• Increase in the numbers of spots have slowed considerably since 2006

• 2007-8, the increase in the number of regulated spaces for ECEC was 29, 271. The number of spots required was 65,337

• 2008 - UNICEF ranked Canada last for provision of ECEC programs among 25 developed countries

• Child care is not adequate and the rights of children, as well as women, are being compromised.

Current State of Child Care in Canada

• Cost - average cost of child care in Ontario is $814 per child, but rates are variable

Net Family Income Daily Child Care Fee20,000 $030,000 $440,000 $850,000 $1960,000 $3170,000 $42

*This is for regulated child care only**Child care costs may push middle income earners into

relative poverty

The Special Case of Child Care & Education in Quebec

• In 2005, Quebec enacted an early childhood education program consisting of:– Preschool care for infants & toddlers– Before & after school care for school-aged children– Administration through local school authorities– Full day kindergarten for 5 year olds

• Since 2006, the work force participation rate of mothers with children 0 & 6 years has increased 11%– For mothers of school-aged children, 14%

Changes in Ontario

• Full day kindergarten started to be rolled out in select schools in 2010(JK & SK)

• Each year, more schools are being added• Play-based learning• Includes a certified teacher & ECEC educator in

each classroom• Fee-based before & after-school care as well• Promotes the integration of child care & early

childhood education

Sexual Harassment

• Defined as,

“any unwanted sexually-based or sexually-oriented [behaviour] which creates discomfort and threatens a [person’s] well being”. (Kadar, 1988, p. 339).

Sexual Harassment

• It can include:– Verbal abuse– Jokes & other sexual comments– Spreading rumours of sexual acts or involvement– Leering– Touching– Unnecessary contact– Display of pornographic material– Sexual assault– Threat of retaliation

• 97% of the complaints to the Canadian Human Rights Commission in the late ‘80s were made by women against males.

Sexual Harassment

• Migrant female workers & temporary workers are more at risk

• Many complaints are not made due to workers fearing the effects of job loss

• Impacts of sexual harassment -> Sexual harassment syndrome - depression, eating & sleeping problems, ulcers

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/11/07/bc-rcmp-harassment-galiford.html

Reading

• Turner, J. & Turner, F. (2009). Canadian Social Welfare, 6th Ed. Toronto: Pearson Education Canada. Ch. 9.

• View “Fifth Estate” documentary on Sexual Harassment in the RCMP, “Behind the Line”, December 9, 2011http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/Shows/the_fifth_estate/1278707885/ID=2175244509