The Ontario NDP are out with a message to the Ford government, calling on it to recognize the struggle and barriers women are facing in returning to work.
Referencing a recent report from the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) which coined the term “she-covery” and called on the federal and provincial governments to invest in women as part of its economic recovery plans.
The party’s Economic Growth and Job Creation Critic, Waterloo MPP Catherine Fife, appeared on the Mike Farwell Show on 570 NEWS to explain what the report and she-covery were all about.
“It builds on the data that we now have after five months of economic challenges in this province and in this country, and it recognizes that there is a ‘she-cession,'” Fife said. “Meaning that women; the pandemic dealt more economic blow to working women and really put them in a position that has made it harder for them to recover.”
According to Fife, around 158 thousand men have returned back to work, but only 95 thousand women have done the same.
“I think the pandemic has truly shone a light on some of those strategic barriers that exist in the province of Ontario—and really—this is an opportunity for us to recognize what those barriers are, and then address them so that we learn from this pandemic and then we make sure that everybody sees success in Ontario.”
One of the key suggestion Fife references from the OCC report was that the government look into providing accessible childcare for families to ease the burden off women to return to work.
She also points out that women entrepreneurs have had difficulties accessing tradition capital, which the Ford government should address as well.
“If we are going to be slowly re-entering a more vibrant economy, this is actually an opportunity to focus on education and upscaling for women. I’m thinking of the skilled trades and technology and engineering roles in these sectors that we will need to rebuild,” she said.
