“housing and childcare top budget
 priorities for women in Thompson”

The Thompson Citizen

November 4, 2005 — page 4

Budgets are the most influential policy tool of governments, and that’s why twenty women from the Thompson area gathered for a recent daylong workshop on the provincial budget. The October 26 workshop introduced women to the workings of the Manitoba budget and gave participants the chance to influence it.

“Government budgets affect everyday realities for women, but women’s voices are not adequately factored into the budgeting process,”says Becky Thiessen of the UN Platform for Action Committee who travelled from Winnipeg to help facilitate the workshop. “Women need to understand how budgets work and provide creative and constructive input into the process.”

Women’s poverty rates across Manitoba remain alarmingly high. One out of five women live in poverty in Manitoba and certain groups of women such as immigrant women, women living with disabilities, Aboriginal women, and senior women experience poverty much more frequently and deeply. In the workforce women still earn on average 27% less than men.

Women are not only money-poor, they are also time-poor as they juggle various demands on their lives. Single mothers are especially affected as they balance childcare responsibilities, paid work and sometimes also studying. Many of the workshop participants were women from surrounding communities who have come to Thompson to improve their education and therefore their employment potential. They talked of the impossible balancing act of attending class, picking up kids from school or day care for lunch, getting them home and to school again, and getting homework done in the evenings when child care is not available, there is no public transit after 6pm, and they are unable to afford computers or internet access at home. Long lists for low-income rental housing as well as the fact that Thompson has only four childcare centres make their lives more stressful.

A provincial budget that favours tax cuts over investing in social programs benefits men most as women, largely because of their parenting responsibilities, are more dependant on programs such as low-income housing, childcare, and social assistance. Tax cuts on the other hand benefit men most as they are higher earners. A budget that reduces inequality makes life better for everyone.

At the close of the workshop participants wrote letters to MLA Steve Ashton encouraging him to work to make gender analysis a part of the budget process and naming their specific concerns such as more childcare spaces, access to affordable and quality housing, and a raise in the minimum wage.

“Women still do not have the recognition we deserve but we do have the voice and strength to continue to change that,” said workshop participant Shawnee Outchikat, a student who walks 45 minutes each morning and afternoon to take her children to a babysitter. Women talked of how satisfied they were to hear of women’s common experiences. “I am not alone in all of this,” was a refrain echoed by many.

The workshop was organized by the UN Platform for Action Committee Manitoba (UNPAC), a women’s organization committed to equality, development, and peace, with help from a number of community partners in Thompson. Besides the daylong workshop, held at the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Social Work at Thompson, the group also taught a social policy class at the school and held an evening discussion.

UNPAC Coordinator Jennifer deGroot said, “We are thrilled with the enthusiasm and expertise of women who came out to share their budget priorities. We will incorporate them into Manitoba’s Alternative Provincial Budget and share them with the Government of Manitoba. We feel that women are the real experts when it comes to knowing how budgets can work both more efficiently and can create more equality.”

UNPAC is holding workshops with women throughout the province.