A Gendered Recession

As the economic downturn as deepened over the past few months, it has became apparent that the recession is impacting men and women differently. The male-dominated construction, manufacturing and natural resource industries have been hit the hardest. Four out of five jobs that have been lost since October 2008 were ones held by men. Meanwhile, female-dominated sectors such as health and education have yet to be impacted as severely.

With many men losing their jobs, the recession has highlighted the importance of dual incomes for many families in Canada. While women’s earnings tend to be lower than that of men, many women are finding themselves the primary breadwinners.

However, even in times of economic boom, women are more likely to be poor and are more vulnerable to falling into poverty. Despite gains in pay equity, a significant gender income gap still exists in Canada. Government policies have often failed to recognize the different needs of men and women in the workforce to ensure economic security for all. The 2009 federal budget is a glaring example of this. The stimulus it offered was targeted almost solely towards male-dominated sectors and completely ignored the need for investment in social infrastructure services such as childcare.

Another example of a policy that disproportionately underserves women is the current eligibility requirements for EI. In 2008, only 39.1% of unemployed women qualified for EI, while 45.5% of men did. A primary factor for this is that, in order to qualify for unemployment, maternity or parental benefits, workers must be consistently employed for a certain number of hours. This number varies by province, sometimes significantly.

As women are much more likely to be employed in part-time, casual or temporary work, they often have a harder time accessing EI benefits even though they are often in greater need of them. Approximately 40% of women work in non-standard or precarious jobs, compared to only 29% of men. Therefore, while men are currently more likely to be unemployed, men are also often more able to access EI as they are more likely to have been employed full-time long enough to qualify.

However, women have still not been immune to the economic crisis by any means. While female-dominated sectors are holding up more strongly again the recession, the downturn has been impacting women in other ways. Last week, the Toronto Star reported a rise in number of women in Ontario who have had their employment terminated because of their pregnancy, with their employer citing the recession as the reason for their termination. Doing so is illegal under the Ontario Human Rights Code and places a women’s eligibility for EI benefits into jeopardy.

Cases like these highlight how the economic downturn can impact those who are already vulnerable to income insecurity. Reforming the EI system to adequately meet the needs of both men and women is crucial if we are to weather this current recession.