What can governments do to promote women's economic equality?

Women's economic inequality is deeply entrenched in our society and results from many different factors. However, there are many different things governments can do to protect women from poverty and to promote women's economic equality. Here are a few ideas you can pass on to your elected representatives:

For a review of which government is responsible for what in Canada, visit The role of government in the economy.

1. Raise minimum wage
   Minimum wage rates in Canada range from $8.00 in British Colombia and Prince Edward Island to $10.00 in Nunavut. Manitoba's minimum wage is $8.75 (May 2009 figures).¹ In no province is minimum wage high enough to bring anyone out of poverty, not even if a person works full-time and has no dependants. (See Women and Minimum Wage for more.) Two-thirds of minimum wage earners are women so raising minimum wage rates to a level that allows a person to live with dignity would be an excellent first step in putting women on a more equal playing field.
   
   
2. Implement a national child care program
   A national child care program is long overdue in Canada. Studies in European countries where such programs do exist show that access to quality, affordable childcare has a positive impact on women's participation in the paid labour force. Studies show that $2 of social benefits flow from every $1 invested in childcare. Because children are an important and necessary part of society - all of society benefits from them - it does not make sense for individual families to assume all responsibility for their care. (See Caring for Children.)
   
   
3. Protect and expand social programs
   Many people find themselves in vulnerable economic situations at some point in their lives, be that a result of sickness, disability, divorce, death of a spouse, unemployment, old age, leaving an abusive relationship, or single parenthood. Women are especially at risk. They are paid less than men for their paid work and they tend to assume a much larger share of the unpaid caregiving responsibilities. Services like social assistance, disability benefits, Old Age Security (OAS), Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), subsidized housing, and Employment Insurance (EI) are essential to protecting women from poverty. Currently social assistance, disability, and old age payments are not enough to protect anyone from poverty. Cuts to EI have meant that far fewer people have access to these benefits (especially women who make up 2/3 of the part-time workforce in Canada), disability benefits show large gaps, and subsidized housing programs are inadequate to provide for all who need them.²

   Along with expanding social programs, governments have a role to play in implementing national standards for the delivery of programs. Many Canadians felt the loss when the Government of Canada eliminated the Canada Assistance Plan (CAP) along with the standards it set out. The Canadian government has an important role to play in creating new standards that ensure that all have what they need to live healthy and productive lives.
   

4. Freeze tuition rates
   Tuition rates at universities across Canada have increased dramatically over the past decade. University-educated women have a much greater chance of higher earnings than do their non-university-educated counterparts. Tuition rates must stay the same or lower in order that university education be truly accessible to all.
   
   
5. Create good jobs
   Governments get many messages from corporate lobby groups urging them to reduce the non-profit sector and privatize government services in the name of economic growth. These same groups argue that a certain amount of unemployment is necessary in order to maintain a competitive economy. But women and other vulnerable people will quickly be pushed out of an economy that is driven solely by the market.

   Governments have provided well-paying and secure jobs for many women. This means that cutting social programs and the jobs that go with them not only leaves many women without the services they need to survive, it also gets rid of their jobs. In contrast, many jobs produced by the free market private sector are low-paying, low-status jobs such as telemarketing and though they may create economic growth, this growth is monopolized by the corporate elite. In other words, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. The government can play a positive role in creating a society in which all have access to good jobs that benefit the whole community.
   

6. Create progressive employment policies
   Governments can help provide good jobs outside of the public sector as well. Employment policies such as maternity benefits, benefits for part-time workers, and flexible schedules have helped women participate in the paid work force on their own terms. Governments can promote flexible workplaces by supporting these policies. Governments can also ensure pay equity - equal pay for work of equal value. Though the gap is lessening, women still earn less than men in Canada even in the same kind of work. (See The Wage Gap for more.) Unions too have been able to negotiate well-paying jobs for women; female unionized workers are much more likely to be paid closer to their male counterparts than non-unionized workers. Governments can help strengthen and promote unionization. Another progressive employment policy is affirmative action which attempts to correct inequalities of opportunity faced by certain groups of people such as women or people of colour (see Rose & Stacey's stories).
   

7. Redistribute wealth through taxes
   The richest 10 percent of people in Canada own more than half of the wealth in Canada. In contrast, the poorest 10 percent of people own minus 0.4 percent of Canada's wealth. (They are in debt.) And according to economist Armine Yalnizyan, the gap is growing. Governments have an important role to play in redistributing wealth. They can do this through progressive taxation and closing tax loopholes that allow many rich individuals and corporations to avoid their fair share of taxes. The past decade has seen massive cuts to corporate income tax which have reduced governments' tax base and given them less to devote to social programming. Because women make up the majority of low-income people, a tax system that redistributes wealth would benefit them most.

   The Canadian government and other post-colonial governments also have a role to play in resolving Aboriginal land claims. Aboriginal peoples, especially Aboriginal women, make up a disproportionate number of the poor in Canada, a situation directly related to their displacement from their land as a result of colonization. (See Aboriginal Women and the Economy.)

   Internationally a Tobin Tax would force people to pay taxes on international currency transactions, redistributing global wealth and creating a fund for international development projects and environmental protection.

8. Measure true economic growth
   Governments can use Alternative Economic Measures like the Genuine Progress Index (GPI) which measure growth not just in terms of monetary transactions but also community health and happiness and environmental protection. For example, time-use surveys have demonstrated the importance of women's unpaid caregiving work in creating government policy and programming. Governments can also support alternative economic structures developed by the community (see Community Economic Development) which strive to promote positive economic growth that benefits whole communities.
   
   

9. Engage citizens
   Governments can involve citizens in many aspects of their work. Consultation is one way but there are other ways, for example, creating budgets. Many citizens already participate in budget creation through Alternative Budgets such as women's and gender budgets. Governments can take these budgets seriously and support the priorities that they favour.
   
   
10. Use Gender-Based Analysis (GBA)
    Gender-based analysis or GBA is a tool that governments can use to ensure that, rather than exacerbate existing inequalities, government policies and programs serve to decrease these inequalities. GBA can be used at all steps in the process from review and design of programs to their introduction and legislation, and at all levels of government. GBA can help highlight such concerns as lighting and safety on university/college campuses, women's overrepresentation in part-time work, and women's health needs. GBA can also be used at an international level, for example, highlighting the often negative impact of free trade agreements on women.
    
    
11. Make trade agreements fair
    Free trade agreements are well-known to exacerbate existing inequalities within and between countries. Women have been forced to bear the brunt of the restructuring that results from a globalized economy. They have lost unionized jobs in favour of non-standard employment, they have been forced to pick up the slack created by cuts to the public sector, and they have lost good jobs as a result of privatization. Within the global economy, free trade agreements have forced women in Canada to compete directly with women overseas, cheapening labour and reducing labour protections.
    
    
12. Forgive foreign debt
    Many of the world's poorest countries are saddled with unfair debts to the world's richest countries. International money-lending institutions like the World Bank use these debts to force poor countries to implement Structural Adjustment Programs or SAPs. SAPs encourage privatization of government services such as health care and education, creating havoc for vulnerable citizens. Women are particularly affected as they find ways to care for families and communities in dire situations. At the same time, SAPs encourage the creation of export-driven economies. As a result, women are forced into low-wage jobs created by foreign corporations and often made to work in sweatshop conditions. Women also lose control of land and therefore the ability to grow food for their families as they are pushed out by foreign-owned agribusinesses. (See Intro to Globalization for more.)
    
    
13. Increase foreign aid and involvement
    Along with cancelling debt, increasing international assistance is yet another way that governments can redistribute global wealth and alleviate poverty for the world's most vulnerable citizens. Currently Canada's level of foreign aid lies far below the internationally-accepted level of 0.7%. Federal governments can also increase their foreign involvement by participating in UN programs and organizations that promote peace, ecologically sustainable development, and all human rights - economic, social, cultural, political, and civil.

¹ Click here to see current minimum wage rates across Canada.
² For more about the inadequacy of Canadian social programs see Jean Swanson's Poor-bashing: the politics of exclusion.