The pandemic has pushed women’s participation in the labour force down to its lowest level in three decades.
A report by the Royal Bank of Canada found that 1.5-million women lost their jobs in the first two months of COVID-19
According to the study, numbers dropped to a level unseen since the mid-80s. Despite making up about 51 per cent of job losses in March and April, women accounted for just 45 per cent of job gains the following two months.
Alyse Stuart is chair of Common Front NL, a coalition of labour, social justice, and community groups in the province.
(Alyse Stuart, file photo.)
Stuart says based on the sectors most impacted by COVID-19, it’s not surprising women were most affected. She says it was unfortunately foreseen, as hospitality and retail employ a lot of women and minimum wage workers.
She says the numbers are more startling when you think about the actual impact on families, because you have many women that aren’t in the workforce no longer bringing in any income.
Stuart says childcare is going to play a huge role moving forward for women during the pandemic; they will end up taking off more time because of childcare issues and the uncertainty of the school year.
Alyse Stuart spoke with VOCM’s Gerri Lynn Mackey. Listen below:
