Canada to empower visible minority newcomer women
News release
Making it easier for women to succeed as they settle in their new country
June 6, 2019—Toronto, ON— Canada is making it easier for newcomer women to find a job by providing the support and services they need to succeed. This will help these women highlight their talents and experiences as they settle in Canada.
Some newcomer women face multiple barriers trying to find work and get ahead in Canada. This includes gender- and race-based discrimination, precarious or low income employment, lack of affordable childcare, and weak social and employment supports.
Recognizing these challenges, the government has selected 22 organizations from across the country that understand visible minority newcomer women, the barriers they face, and their circumstances. These organizations will launch projects over the next 2 years that will:
- Develop and test innovative approaches to enable more visible minority newcomer women to find a job and succeed at work;
- Support smaller organizations to increase their capacity to serve visible minority newcomer women and enable them to overcome barriers to employment; and/or
- Increase the digital literacy of visible minority newcomer women to access and advance within the Canadian labour market.
The Government is committed to the full and equal participation of all women and girls, which is essential to Canada’s economic growth and prosperity.
Quotes
“Visible minority newcomer women face more challenges than any other group to enter the workforce. This isn’t just about getting women jobs; it’s also about providing a sense of dignity and belonging. Canada’s gender equality is for all women, not just for some.”
– The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
“Visible minority newcomer women face many intersecting barriers when trying to find a job. If we want to advance gender equality, we need to acknowledge that they exist and actively work to dismantle them. Everyone deserves to be able to develop their skills and find a good job so that they can take care of themselves and their family. By supporting the organizations taking part in this pilot project, we can better ensure that all women have an equal opportunity at success.”
– The Honourable Maryam Monsef, Minister of International Development and Minister for Women and Gender Equality
Quick facts
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The Government is providing up to $7.5 million over two years to the selected 22 organizations to deliver new projects.
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In December 2018, the government launched an expression of interest process to solicit proposals from organizations for new projects.
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Visible minority newcomer women have the lowest median annual income of all newcomer groups at $26,624, compared to non-visible minority newcomer women ($30,074), visible minority newcomer men ($35,574), and non-visible minority newcomer men ($42,591).
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Visible minority newcomer women are more likely to be unemployed. The unemployment rate of visible minority newcomer women (9.7%) is higher than that of visible minority (8.5%) and non-visible minority (6.4%) newcomer men, based on the 2016 Census.
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Contacts
Contacts for media only
Mathieu Genest
Minister’s Office
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
613-954-1064
Media Relations
Communications Branch
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
613-952-1650
IRCC.COMMMediaRelations-RelationsmediasCOMM.IRCC@cic.gc.ca
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