Backgrounder -  New federal investment will help improve women’s economic security in Halifax

Women and Gender Equality Canada – Women’s Program

One of the ways Women and Gender Equality Canada advances gender equality in Canada is by providing funding to eligible organizations through the Women’s Program. Projects are selected via calls for proposals on specific themes, as well as through a continuous intake process that allows the Women’s Program to address emerging issues as they arise.                                                  

The Women’s Program funds projects that address systemic barriers to women’s equality in three priority areas: ending violence against women and girls; improving the economic security and prosperity of women and girls; and encouraging women and girls in leadership roles.

Calls for Proposals – Support for Women’s Economic Security and Addressing the Economic Security and Prosperity of Indigenous Women

On October 2, 2017, the Minister launched two calls for proposals. The first call for proposals, entitled Support for Women’s Economic Security, invited organizations to apply for funding for projects to address the economic security of women and help advance gender equality in Canada. More than 30 projects will receive a total of $10 million in funding through this call for proposals.

This first call for proposals is divided into two themes. The first theme is Building Partnerships to Address Systemic Barriers, which provides funding to address major barriers that limit women’s economic security. This theme includes, but is not limited to, the accessibility of childcare, the gender wage gap and pay inequity. The second theme, Increasing Private Sector Leadership and Investments in Women, encourages organizations to partner with the private sector to find innovative solutions that will help advance women’s economic security.

The second call for proposals, entitled Addressing the Economic Security and Prosperity of Indigenous Women, invited organizations to foster collaboration between Indigenous women, Indigenous organizations, their communities, and the private sector to support the economic security and prosperity of Indigenous women across Canada. Fifteen projects across the country will receive nearly $5 million in funding through this call for proposals.

Halifax Project

Today’s announcement profiled a project in Halifax selected for federal funding through the Support for Women’s Economic Security call for proposals:

Project title: Shift Change: Building Security for Women in the Trades and Utilities
Funding amount: $330,418

This 36-month long women’s economic security project will explore and address barriers to women working in the trades in Nova Scotia. The YWCA Halifax is working with private sector employers to look at how workplace culture impacts recruitment and retention of women in these fields. The three key project activities are: multi-employer focus group research looking at perceptions among male supervisors, managers and employers in two sub-sectors – construction and manufacturing/industrial; workplace initiatives around addressing these barriers; and a pledge campaign for Nova Scotia employers to make a public commitment to bringing more women onto their teams, including associated enabling actions.

YWCA Halifax was founded in 1874 as a residence for 42 young women and girls. By 1899, the organization had purchased its own premises in Halifax on Hollis Street and opened a new residence on the corner of Oxford and College. YWCA Halifax has continued to grow and expand to meet the needs of Haligonians and now works with multiple local and international agencies to increase economic security and wellness for young women, girls, and their families.

Provincial Statistics – Women’s Economic Security 

• When comparing median hourly wages of women and men aged 15 years and over and working full-time in Nova Scotia in 2018, women earned 89 cents for every dollar earned by men, suggesting a gap of 11%.

• In 2018, the employment rate was 54.7% among women aged 15 years and over compared to 59.6% among men in Nova Scotia.

• While the majority of Canadians are employed on a full‑time basis, women remain more likely than men to work part-time. In Nova Scotia, women represented 65.5% of part-time workers in 2018, while men comprised 34.5% of part-time workers.

National Statistics – Women’s Economic Security

• In 2018, 83.2% of women in the core working ages of 25 to 54 years (about 6 million) participated in the labour market.

• In 2018, women in the core working ages represented 48.0% of the labour force, up from 46.3% in 1999 and 35.4% in 1976.

• In 2018, the national employment rate for women aged 25-54 was 79.1% compared to 86.3% for men.

• On average, women worked 5.6 hours per week less than men (35.5 hours/week compared to 41.1 hours/week) in 2015.