Closing the Gender Gap in Alberta Employment: Experiences and Solutions
Albertans face an affordability crisis on top of the impact of lost wages and work disruptions that started during the pandemic and continue today. Women are strongly affected by this crisis. Albertans need solutions to improve pay equity, childcare, training, and business investment.
PolicyWise for Children and Families has been working on a project to identify program and policy solutions to address the disproportionate effects of COVID-19 on women in Alberta’s labour force. Over the past year and half, we have worked with community partners and women with lived experience including entrepreneurs to understand the impact of COVID-19 on their ability to work and or earn income and potential solutions to address these impacts.One of our key findings is the strong role Alberta’s community non-profits play to support women’s employment opportunities and close the gender gap in the labour force.
Community non-profits have on-the-ground knowledge of what women require to participate in Alberta’s workforce. They have the unique ability to develop nimble and innovative solutions. Industry, government, and non-profit partnerships can leverage these strengths to collaboratively support women’s employment.
Applying community non-profits’ knowledge and solutions to these partnerships can ensure policies and programs adequately support women to fully participate in the workforce and have equitable employment opportunities.Through our research and collaboration with community partners, we have developed policy recommendation in five areas to drive action to close the gender gap in employment and entrepreneurship in Alberta:
- Enhance childcare systems.
- Build jobs and training for women.
- Invest in women entrepreneurs.
- Embrace Newcomer women’s full potential.
- Mobilize community solutions.
In this session, we will 1) present findings and stories from our research with women with lived experience, community non-profit organizations, and data from Statistics Canada. 2) Discuss policy recommendations, co-developed with community partners, to close the gender gap in Alberta’s workforce.
Cost: Free
Registration Link: https://forms.gle/uYznkcupvTa36CNeA
This is part of the Maskwacis Cultural College Microlearning Series and is open to the public.
Contact Manisha Khetarpal by email mkhetarpal@mccedu.ca or call toll free: 1 866 585 3925