The economic future of self-employed women in Canada is bleak.
It’s not front-page news, but one million self-employed women and gender diverse people in Canada are facing the results of a cascade of public policy making that erodes their economic future. At one million strong, they make up 5% of Canada’s entire workforce. One in four (250,000) are racialized; 54,000 are Indigenous; 180,000 live in rural areas.
If self-employed workers decided to stop their work tomorrow, the unemployment rate would jump to 15%.
Self-employed women and gender-diverse workers in Canada do a wide range of work. They are personal support workers, artists, cleaners, bookkeepers, tech workers, hair stylists, graphic designers and realtors, but 20% (200,000) work directly in healthcare and social assistance or what’s come to be known as the ‘care economy’.
As women’s economic position weakens, their world shrinks.
Women’s economic position ensures they are more likely to have to stay in violent relationships because they can’t afford to leave. And whether they experience violence or not, most women raising children on their own will live below the poverty line, in a world offering far fewer choices. Their life is full of uncertainty. Their health suffers. Their waning economic position causes an overall failure to thrive. This economic reality determines the fate of generations of women to come.
Economic inequity is the root cause of the worst of the manifestations of gender inequity.
It weakens a society when half of the population must make do with so much less. And the future is not promising for women.
Having seen this devastating reality for build up for years, the Canadian Women’s Chamber of Commerce (CanWCC) has developed a four-pillared strategy which requires urgent action.
When successfully resourced and implemented, The Self-employed Women’s Initiative will lift an entire workforce of one million self-employed women within three to five years.