Employment Skills

We are Advancing Women and Gender Diverse People’s Economic Security.

One in seven Canadian women live in poverty. The risk of poverty is greatest if you are an aboriginal woman, recent newcomer woman, racialized woman, or single mother. We know that women’s lower earning power means that they are at greater risk of falling into poverty if they have children, become separated, divorced, or widowed. When women are poor, their children suffer.

Women account for 60% of minimum wage workers in Canada. In addition, 40% of women work in precarious jobs with no benefits, no pension, and little or no job security. Newcomer women experience disproportionately higher unemployment rates. While newcomer women are twice as likely to have a university degree, the poverty rate is 2.5 times higher presenting a $15 billion loss to the Canadian economy through “wasted skills.”

Economic security, empowerment, and the eradication of poverty are key intersecting themes that are necessary for women in our community to reach their full potential.

True equality, meaning economic empowerment, decision-making, and career choices are seen as a fundamental vision for women in our community in the coming decade. We’re making this vision come to life.

We move women and gender diverse people from poverty to possibility to help them reach their full potential.