“women-based budget
 important for equality”

— Status of Women group

The Thompson Citizen

November 17, 2006 by Cassandra Kyle

A women’s group with roots in the United Nations said building federal and provincial budgets with women’s needs in mind would help to raise equality between genders.

Funded by Status of Women Canada and the province of Manitoba, UNPAC (United Nations Platform for Action Committee) members were in Thompson on Wednesday to help women better understand the budget and how they can affect it.

“Right now our work is in general and economic literacy — getting women to see how the economy affects every part of our life,” said Jennifer deGroot, UNPAC’s project coordinator. “It’s easy for women to say ‘if I don’t make a lot of money,’ or ‘if I don’t have a paying job we’re not part of the economy,’ but we’re a part of the economy in everything we do. We say if a woman can understand their household budget they can understand a provincial budget. It’s the same thing, only on a bigger scale.”

The UNPAC workshop for women on the Manitoba provincial budget addressed issues such as who makes the budget, where the money is allotted and why, and common misconceptions about the budget. The group also discussed women’s economic inequality and how it can be changed.

“We want to tell as many women in Manitoba as possible, so it was a natural choice to come here. We find in Thompson there are a lot of women who live in smaller communities so they can take what they learn here back with them,” she said. “Equality isn’t putting the same amount of money toward men’s programs and women’s programs…it’s equality of output, so the system works better for everyone.”

Issues important to women like affordable housing and childcare are often pushed aside when it is time to make a provincial or federal budget, said deGroot, so women should be more involved with the decision-making process.

“Women make up the majority of people living in poverty, and they’re generally more responsible for caring for the family. So something like affordable housing affects men and women in different ways. It’s the same thing with child care,” she said.

Women are also asked to volunteer with community groups and at their children’s schools — often times fundraising for money that could have been allotted for in the budget.

“It’s not just women’s poverty of money, its poverty of time,” deGroot said. “Women are just in impossible situations and we feel the budget can make a big impact on that. It can make women less equal and it can make women more equal.”

Along with a lack of budgeted dollars toward programs important to women, lack of time was a hot issue at the workshop.

“I think there’s a lot of pressure put on volunteers, who are mostly women,” said Pam Logan, who attended the event. “To some people the concept that our day doesn’t end at 4:30 p.m. and we can’t kick back and have a beer and watch our favourite program just isn’t there.”

“We’re running from the moment we leave the office to the time we go to bed. I think we need to know about how we can help our community as women.”

But finding the courage to stand up for women’s rights isn’t always easy. “I’m concerned that we need more programs in place to protect our women,” said Lana Graham. “When you speak up sometimes you are made to feel like you shouldn’t be and then what? Then what happens? It’s easier not to say anything, and it’s easier to sit back and go with the flow. It’s hard to be that person who stands up and says something.”

“In this day and age you would think that women, children and minorities are going to have more power when in fact it’s slipping away, and that’s scary,” Graham said.

But deGroot says there are ways to have your voice heard, and one of the simplest methods is to write or speak to your MLA or MP.

“We know that they’re reading and responding and paying attention to the letters,” deGroot said. “It’s easy to feel like you’re just in Manitoba, but the budget has a major impact on women. It’s such a powerful tool.”