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How COVID-19 forces women to rethink careers

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4 years ago

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Before COVID-19, Rachel Dei-Amoah would typically be asleep by 10 PM. Now, she’s often awake past midnight, reading or online window shopping.

The hushed late-night hours are rare moments of peace for the mother of two, as she attempts to juggle childcare and a demanding professional career during a pandemic.

“Now I’ve got to parent, while I’m at my work day. I’ve got to be a teacher, during my work day. Now, there’s not a lot of time for mom anymore.”

Dei-Amoah, 47, counts herself fortunate. Her full-time job as a manager of executive pensions at TD Bank in Toronto has continued uninterrupted, shifting entirely to work-from-home.

But demands on her time have grown exponentially. With schools closed, she’s managing online learning for her kids, aged 6 and 10, mediating sibling quarrels, and serving up three meals a day for the family.

Her mental capacity is maxed out, she says, “because it’s like, I’ve got to think about all these things and still think about my work.”

 

Six-year-old Leo completes a homeschool activity as his mother Moira, an employee of a regional council, works from home in the village of Marsden, near Huddersfield, northern England on May 15. (Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images)

 

As the slow process of reopening non-essential businesses begins across Canada, Dei-Amoah is one of many female professionals and entrepreneurs struggling with work-life balance.

She’s unsure what to do with her kids this summer, with camps no longer an option, and anxious about returning to the workplace, because she’s immunocompromised.

“I don’t know how I’m gonna go back to the office. Even for the whole rest of the year. Like, I don’t know how it’s gonna be possible.”

The COVID-19 ‘she-cession’

Women bore the brunt of early COVID-19 job losses in Canada, with female-dominated sectors like child care, education, retail, and restaurant workers among the hardest hit.

Statistics Canada recently reported 1.5 million women lost jobs over March and April, a 17-per-cent drop in employment from February levels.

It’s a crisis some economists have dubbed a “she-cession.” But, as the pandemic wears on, women’s participation in the coronavirus economy may be heading for even rockier times.

With children at home, and families forced to take on more domestic labour, experts predict growing numbers of working women may reduce hours or opt out of the labour market entirely.

“As we think about a working-from-home environment, especially if schools and daycares are closed, guess what? That is going to affect women and their careers the most,” said Pedro Barata, head of the Future Skills Centre, an employment research institute at Ryerson University.

Gender gap in child care and housework

Barata points to studies of dual-income heterosexual families that have found when both men and women work outside the home, the bulk of child care and household labour still falls to women. The pandemic has exacerbated these inequities, he says.

“This could actually be a step backwards rate in terms of the equality between men and women in the workplace and career paths.”

Workplaces will be dramatically different, if and when everyone returns to work, says one expert, but there could be some advantages. 5:49

The pandemic also forced Dei-Amoah’s husband to work from home, but the children see him as the “fun one.”

At first, Dei-Amoah attempted to tutor her six-year-old daughter with her reading difficulties and tackle her 10-year-old son’s math challenges. But, coupled with her banking job, it wasn’t sustainable.

“I was like, ‘You know what? Screw it. I’m concentrating on their weaknesses, not their strengths,'” said Dei-Amoah.

“We turn in some assignments. But I am not stressing over it because it’s just making my workday worse.”

‘The stress is what’s killing me’

In Lisa Iafrate’s case, the pandemic shattered her business ambitions, literally causing her to lose her hair.

“The stress is what’s killing me… because there’s so much out of my control,” said Iafrate.

Iafrate is a go-getting entrepreneur based in King City, Ont., who quit her job several years ago to launch a company called TaLii Towels that sells compact, antibacterial towels.

 

Lisa Iafrate, right, with King City Ont., Mayor Steve Pellegrini. (Submitted by Lisa Iafrate)

 

Iafrate found success in the trade show market, criss-crossing North America to sell her product. But when the pandemic hit, all the trade shows Iafrate booked this year were cancelled, and her online business dried up.

“Sales just completely stopped. Then I went into panic mode,” said Iafrate.

After weeks of depression, she hatched a plan to turn her towels into facemasks, generating enough revenue to employ her 21-year-old daughter and five local seamstresses.

 

Lisa Iafrate’s daughter Talia works on turning their antibacterial towels into facemasks. (Submitted by Lisa Iafrate)

 

However, as a 60-year-old single-mother hustling to rebuild her business, she’s exhausted by domestic chores around her house, which now doubles as her home office.

“I’m working three times harder because I have to look after the household as well as my business. And the business is already taking up 50 to 60 hours a week,” said Iafrate.

Investment in childcare needed

Barata says efforts to jumpstart the coronavirus economy have focused on investment in male-dominated industries such as manufacturing and construction, but politicians need to recognize this economic crisis is different than past downturns.

“Infrastructure investments are going to be key in terms of getting the economy back to work. But so is childcare. So are opportunities for women in terms of training and retraining,” said Barata.

Dei-Amoah says she’s fortunate her bosses have become more understanding of how and when employees work. Her inbox often gets busy in the evening, between 7-10 PM, because many of her colleagues are pulled into childcare in the afternoon.

“It’s increased people’s understanding of what flexibility is in the workplace,” said Dei-Amoah.

“As long as you get the work done, that is OK.”

Source: – CBC.ca

Edited By Harry Miller

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Dollarama keeping an eye on competitors as Loblaw launches new ultra-discount chain

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1 day ago

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September 11, 2024

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Dollarama Inc.’s food aisles may have expanded far beyond sweet treats or piles of gum by the checkout counter in recent years, but its chief executive maintains his company is “not in the grocery business,” even if it’s keeping an eye on the sector.

“It’s just one small part of our store,” Neil Rossy told analysts on a Wednesday call, where he was questioned about the company’s food merchandise and rivals playing in the same space.

“We will keep an eye on all retailers — like all retailers keep an eye on us — to make sure that we’re competitive and we understand what’s out there.”

Over the last decade and as consumers have more recently sought deals, Dollarama’s food merchandise has expanded to include bread and pantry staples like cereal, rice and pasta sold at prices on par or below supermarkets.

However, the competition in the discount segment of the market Dollarama operates in intensified recently when the country’s biggest grocery chain began piloting a new ultra-discount store.

The No Name stores being tested by Loblaw Cos. Ltd. in Windsor, St. Catharines and Brockville, Ont., are billed as 20 per cent cheaper than discount retail competitors including No Frills. The grocery giant is able to offer such cost savings by relying on a smaller store footprint, fewer chilled products and a hearty range of No Name merchandise.

Though Rossy brushed off notions that his company is a supermarket challenger, grocers aren’t off his radar.

“All retailers in Canada are realistic about the fact that everyone is everyone’s competition on any given item or category,” he said.

Rossy declined to reveal how much of the chain’s sales would overlap with Loblaw or the food category, arguing the vast variety of items Dollarama sells is its strength rather than its grocery products alone.

“What makes Dollarama Dollarama is a very wide assortment of different departments that somewhat represent the old five-and-dime local convenience store,” he said.

The breadth of Dollarama’s offerings helped carry the company to a second-quarter profit of $285.9 million, up from $245.8 million in the same quarter last year as its sales rose 7.4 per cent.

The retailer said Wednesday the profit amounted to $1.02 per diluted share for the 13-week period ended July 28, up from 86 cents per diluted share a year earlier.

The period the quarter covers includes the start of summer, when Rossy said the weather was “terrible.”

“The weather got slightly better towards the end of the summer and our sales certainly increased, but not enough to make up for the season’s horrible start,” he said.

Sales totalled $1.56 billion for the quarter, up from $1.46 billion in the same quarter last year.

Comparable store sales, a key metric for retailers, increased 4.7 per cent, while the average transaction was down2.2 per cent and traffic was up seven per cent, RBC analyst Irene Nattel pointed out.

She told investors in a note that the numbers reflect “solid demand as cautious consumers focus on core consumables and everyday essentials.”

Analysts have attributed such behaviour to interest rates that have been slow to drop and high prices of key consumer goods, which are weighing on household budgets.

To cope, many Canadians have spent more time seeking deals, trading down to more affordable brands and forgoing small luxuries they would treat themselves to in better economic times.

“When people feel squeezed, they tend to shy away from discretionary, focus on the basics,” Rossy said. “When people are feeling good about their wallet, they tend to be more lax about the basics and more willing to spend on discretionary.”

The current economic situation has drawn in not just the average Canadian looking to save a buck or two, but also wealthier consumers.

“When the entire economy is feeling slightly squeezed, we get more consumers who might not have to or want to shop at a Dollarama generally or who enjoy shopping at a Dollarama but have the luxury of not having to worry about the price in some other store that they happen to be standing in that has those goods,” Rossy said.

“Well, when times are tougher, they’ll consider the extra five minutes to go to the store next door.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:DOL)

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U.S. regulator fines TD Bank US$28M for faulty consumer reports

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September 11, 2024

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TORONTO – The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has ordered TD Bank Group to pay US$28 million for repeatedly sharing inaccurate, negative information about its customers to consumer reporting companies.

The agency says TD has to pay US$7.76 million in total to tens of thousands of victims of its illegal actions, along with a US$20 million civil penalty.

It says TD shared information that contained systemic errors about credit card and bank deposit accounts to consumer reporting companies, which can include credit reports as well as screening reports for tenants and employees and other background checks.

CFPB director Rohit Chopra says in a statement that TD threatened the consumer reports of customers with fraudulent information then “barely lifted a finger to fix it,” and that regulators will need to “focus major attention” on TD Bank to change its course.

TD says in a statement it self-identified these issues and proactively worked to improve its practices, and that it is committed to delivering on its responsibilities to its customers.

The bank also faces scrutiny in the U.S. over its anti-money laundering program where it expects to pay more than US$3 billion in monetary penalties to resolve.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TD)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Amazon rejects plea to stop selling taxi roof signs as cab scam spreads across Canada

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2 days ago

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September 10, 2024

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After a long day at a work event in July, Kathryn Kozody was relieved when she spotted a car with a lit-up taxi sign.

She thought it was odd when the driver told her she’d have to pay her fare with a debit card. Still, a tired Kozody hopped in the car.

“I was like, ‘Fine, it’s kind of weird, but let’s go home,'” said Kozody, who lives in Calgary.

Nothing else seemed off — until the next day when she discovered that almost $2,000 was missing from her bank account. On top of that, her debit card had someone else’s name on it.

Kozody concluded that the taxi driver was a fraudster who, during the debit card transaction, recorded her PIN, stole her card and handed her back a fake.

“I started freaking out,” she said. “It’s terrifying when they have your debit card.”

It took Kozody about two weeks to get her money back from her bank, and she’s still rattled by the experience.

The day after taking what she thought was a ride in a taxi, Kathryn Kozody of Calgary found out someone had withdrawn almost $2,000 from her bank account. (James Young/CBC News)

“It really felt like an invasion of privacy and a violation to be a victim of this scam,” she said. “I really don’t want it to happen to anybody else.”

The taxi scam isn’t new; Toronto and Montreal have been seeing it for years. But the crime is becoming more widespread.

This summer, police in Calgary, Edmonton and at least five cities in southern Ontario, including Kingston and Ottawa, posted warnings online that they had received multiple reports of the scam.

Police and the Canadian Taxi Association say the fraudsters have a helping hand: with the click of a button, they can purchase a generic — but official looking — taxi roof sign on e-commerce sites like Amazon.

Edmonton Police posted this alert on Facebook in July, warning people about an ongoing taxi scam. The city’s police department says that it received about 10 reports of the scam that month. (Edmonton Police/Facebook )

The taxi association has asked Amazon, by far Canada’s most popular online shopping site, to stop making the roof signs so easily available.

“They do have a moral responsibility to at least sell the signs to individuals that are properly licensed,” said association president Marc André Way.

However, the U.S.-based company continues to sell the product to all customers.

“These lights are legal to sell in Canada,” Amazon told CBC News in an email.

‘Eye-popping’ numbers

The taxi scam has several variations but typically ends the same way: the victim pays with a debit card, then the scammer secretly steals it and hands the victim a similar but fake card. Shortly thereafter, money disappears from the victim’s account.

Ron Hansen, deputy chief of police in Sarnia, Ont., said his department received 12 reports of the scam in July, with one victim losing $9,900.

Toronto police report that since June 2023 the department has received 919 reports of the taxi scam, totalling $1.7 million in losses.

Jessica Chin King of Toronto said after a recent cab ride, she got a suspicious activity alert from her bank. She learned $600 had been withdrawn from her account. (Craig Chivers/CBC)

The numbers are “eye-popping,” said Toronto police detective David Coffey.

“When they do get a victim, they are quick to go right into the bank accounts. They’re quick to empty them out.”

Jessica Chin King of Toronto said just 15 minutes after a recent cab ride, she got a suspicious activity alert from her bank. Turns out, $600 had been withdrawn from her account.

“I was like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe that just happened.’ I was in shock,” said Chin King, whose bank later reimbursed the cash.

She said she too was fooled by the taxi sign atop the car.

“I was in the car with somebody who wasn’t a taxi driver. Anything could have happened,” she said. “I was thankful that it was only my bank [account] that was compromised.”

Taxi light for $35 on Amazon

CBC News bought a taxi sign from Amazon for $35. It has a magnetic strip on the bottom, so it easily sticks to the top of a car.

To power the light, an attached wire can be run through the driver’s window and plugged into the car’s auxiliary power outlet, also known as the cigarette lighter outlet.

The taxi association says licensed taxi drivers typically get their roof signs from speciality suppliers, and they are hardwired to the car — not powered via the cigarette lighter.

“When you see that … it’s obvious that it’s not a legitimate taxi,” said Way, the association president.

Last month, Way sent Amazon a letter on behalf of the Canadian Taxi Association, asking it to stop selling the product.

“This is not a safe, practical way to distribute the trusted ‘Taxi’ signs,” he wrote.

CBC News ordered this $35 taxi sign on Amazon. The attached wire can be run through the driver’s window and plugged into the car’s auxiliary power outlet, while the lights for licensed drivers are hardwired into the vehicle. (Sophia Harris/CBC News)

But Amazon told Way — and CBC News — the signs will remain on its site, because the company isn’t breaking any rules.

“It’s going to be quite difficult, I think, for anyone to stop Amazon from selling a product that is perfectly legal to sell,” said Toronto criminal lawyer, Daniel Goldbloom. “It’s true that these taxi signs can be used to commit scams, but kitchen knives can be used to commit murder — and we don’t stop retailers from selling those.”

But Way isn’t giving up hope.

He says the taxi association also plans to ask other online retailers, such as Temu and eBay, to stop selling the taxi signs and will lobby provincial governments for legislation that regulates the sale of the product.

However, Coffey said he believes the best way to fight the taxi scam is to educate people about it.

“Never, never give another person control of your debit card,” the detective said.

Victims Chin King and Kozody also want to spread the word.

“The more people know, the less likely it is to happen again to somebody else,” Kozody said.

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