Question Period Note: Gendered Impacts of COVID-19

How is WAGE addressing the gendered impacts of COVID-19?

•The Government of Canada is committed to addressing the gendered impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, as we know that different populations, particularly women, have been disproportionately affected.
•To respond, WAGE:
o Delivered approximately $100 million to organizations providing critical supports and services to women and children experiencing violence during the pandemic;
o Is ensuring that response measures are informed by Gender-based Analysis Plus; and
o Is investing $100 million through the Feminist Response and Recovery Fund.
• Overall, the Government of Canada is committed to tackling systemic barriers, reversing the she-cession’ and removing obstacles to women’s full participation in the economic recovery by:
o Investing $601.3 million over five years, starting in 2021-22, to advance towards a new National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence;
o Investing $30 billion to establish a Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care System to drive economic growth and increase women’s participation in the workforce; and
o Investing $146.9 million to strengthen the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy to increase access to financing, mentorship, and training.

Gendered Impacts on Employment
• Women, particularly young women, those who are Indigenous, visible minorities and immigrants, have been disproportionately impacted by economic shutdowns during the pandemic since women are concentrated in jobs in services, retail, care, and hospitality sectors, which have been more severely affected.
• Job losses among women (-7.0%) were almost double that experienced among men (-3.7%) in March 2020. As the economy began to reopen in May 2020, employment increased twice as fast among men than women (+2.4% vs. +1.1%).
• School and daycare closures impact women’s ability to participate in the labour force or continue their own education. Women have shouldered much of the increased unpaid domestic and care work. For example, in June 2020, almost two-thirds (64%) of women reported that they mostly performed homeschooling or helped children with homework, while 19% of men reported being mostly responsible for this task.
• Although employment losses at the start of the pandemic were comparable for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, economic recovery has been slower for Indigenous people, particularly Indigenous women. In September 2021, the employment rates among both Indigenous women (55.4%) and men (61.2%) were essentially the same as in September 2019, but lower than employment rates among non-Indigenous women (56.7%) and men (65.8%), consistent with historical trends.
• Youth were hard hit by the pandemic, suffering sharper employment losses than all other age groups, largely due to the industries in which they work, and that they are more likely to work part-time than other age groups. The youth unemployment rate reached a record-high of 29.1% in May 2020.
• Students’ learning and academic achievement have been negatively affected especially for learners who were academically vulnerable before the pandemic. Children and youth are now moving and playing less at school than before the pandemic, which has had consequences on their development including their mental health.
• Women are also overrepresented in essential occupations (e.g. nursing), facing greater exposure to the virus.
• To address women’s economic vulnerabilities, the Government:
o Created the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB);
o Transitioned to a temporarily revised Employment Insurance program;
o Instituted the Canada Recovery, Canada Recovery Sickness, and Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefits;
o Boosted Canada Child Benefit payments; and,
o Established the $100M Feminist Response and Recovery Fund, which is funding 237 projects to increase women and girls’ participation in Canada’s economic, social, democratic and political life.
• Budget 2021 included several further initiatives:
o $30B for a Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care System;
 To date, eight provinces and territories have signed bi-lateral agreements.
o $146.9M to the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy; and,
o $15M for a LGBTQ2 Projects Fund to support community-led initiatives.

Gender-Based Violence
• Many gender-based violence (GBV) sector organizations in Canada have reported increased demand since the beginning of the pandemic. Others have reported the opposite, raising concerns that those experiencing violence cannot access help.
• Statistics Canada data collected from March 29 to April 5, 2020 indicates 6% of men and 10% of women respondents were very or extremely concerned about the possibility of violence in the home in the context of COVID-19. Young women were substantially more likely than young men to be very or extremely anxious about violence in the home (12% versus 8%, respectively).
• Statistics Canada conducted a crowdsourcing survey from May 12-25, 2020 with participation from 43,000 people on “Canadians’ perceptions of personal safety since COVID-19.” Key conclusions from the survey show that younger participants, specifically young women, visible minorities, and Indigenous participants, were more likely to have concerns about safety in their neighbourhood during COVID-19. Furthermore, young women were more likely to report having contacted or used a victims' service, and less likely to report feeling safe when walking alone after dark in their neighbourhood since the start of the pandemic.
• Specific groups of women and LGBTQ2 people may be more vulnerable to the impact of gender-based violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. National data from before the onset of COVID-19 show that Indigenous women, women living in rural or remote areas, women living with disabilities, transgender and gender diverse people, as well as lesbian, bisexual and gay people are significantly more likely to experience GBV and/or be more vulnerable to its impacts.
• The Government moved swiftly to ensure those facing gender-based violence have a safe place to turn, and delivered $100M to organizations providing critical supports and services to women and children experiencing violence. Since April 2020, more than 1.3 million women and children experiencing violence had a place to turn to because of this funding.
• Reinforcing the Government’s commitment to end gender-based violence, Budget 2021 announced $601.3M over five years to advance towards the development of the National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence (GBV National Action Plan). Of this amount, WAGE has been provided the following:
o $200M over 2 years to support GBV organizations;
o $30M over 5 years so crisis hotlines can serve the urgent needs of more people in Canada who are experiencing GBV;
o $105M over 5 years to enhance the GBV program;
o $14M over 5 years for a dedicated secretariat to coordinate ongoing work towards the development and implementation of the GBV National Action Plan;
o $11M over 5 years for GBV research and knowledge mobilization; and
o $55M over 5 years to bolster the capacity of Indigenous women and 2SLGBTQQIA+ organizations to provide GBV prevention programming aimed at addressing the root causes of violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people.

Poverty Reduction, Health and Well-Being
• Pre-existing economic insecurities were exacerbated by COVID-19.
• To support impoverished and at-risk communities, the Government:
o Launched the Surplus Food Rescue Program;
o Provided $394M to the Reaching Home initiative; and,
o Created the $1.1B Indigenous Community Support fund.
• Budget 2021 also included:
o $45M to organizations that improve sexual and reproductive health care information and service accessibility;
o $6.9B to expand the Canada Workers Benefit;
o $567M to the Reaching Home Initiative;
o $1.5B to the Rapid Housing Initiative, with 25% of funding for women-focused housing projects;
o $100M to support mental health intervention projects for populations disproportionately impacted by COVID-19; and
o $760.8M to the Indigenous Community Support Fund.
 

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