Who is likely to be poor?

In the light of the following fact sheet on poverty - can we at this time in our history have gender balance in government? When we use the term balance are we talking about equity or equality? Given the depth of women's poverty in Canada I say that equity needs to be met first before equality is ever achieved - look at the facts as listed below - are we really equal?

Who is likely to be poor?

This fact sheet was written by Marika Morris and updated by Tahira Gonsalves.

A newborn child, just because she happens to be born female, is more likely to grow up to be poor as an adult. Women form the majority of the poor in Canada. One in seven[2] (2.4 million[3]) Canadian women is living in poverty today.

• Women raising families by themselves: 51.6% of lone parent families headed by women are poor[4]. With many of these families, financial support agreements with the non-custodial parent (usually the father) are either not in place or in arrears.[5]

• Senior women: Almost half (41.5%) of single, widowed or divorced (“unattached”) women over 65 are poor[6]. While the poverty rates for all seniors have improved overall, there is still a large gap between men and women. The poverty rate for all senior women is 19.3%, while that for senior men is 9.5%[7].

• Women on their own: 35% of women on their own under 65, live in poverty.[8]

• Women with disabilities: More women than men live with disabilities in Canada. Aboriginal people have twice the national disability rate[9]. Of all women with disabilities living in a household rather than an institution, and who had any income at all, those aged 35-54 had the highest incomes: an average of $17,000, which is 55% of men with disabilities in that age range. Women with disabilities under 35 had an average income of $13,000, and women with disabilities over 55 had an average income of under $14,000. The more severe a woman’s disability, the lower her income.[10]

• Aboriginal women: The average annual income of Aboriginal women is $13,300, compared to $18,200 for Aboriginal men, and $19,350 for non-Aboriginal women.[11] 44% of the Aboriginal population living off reserve lives in poverty, but things are worse on reserve: Almost half (47%) of Aboriginal persons on reserve have an income of less than $10,000.[12] Aboriginal women are also more likely than Aboriginal men to be trapped in low-paying jobs[13], and because of the continuing effects of the Indian Act, they face insecurities related to housing, access to services and abuse both on and off reserve[14].

• Women of colour: 37% of women of colour are low income, compared with 19% of all women. The average annual income for a woman of colour in Canada is $16,621, almost $3000 less than the average for other women ($19,495) and almost $7,000 less than that of men of colour ($23,635).[15] Women of colour are also overrepresented in precarious (part-time and temporary) work and often have to live in substandard, segregated housing. They are also more vulnerable to violence and other health risks[16].

• Immigrant women: Education does not reduce the income gap between immigrant women and Canadian-born women. New immigrant women between the ages of 25-44 who have a university degree and who worked full-year, full-time earn $14,000 less than Canadian-born women.[17] This is partly because of overt racism, but also the structural racism of lack of recognition of foreign credentials and experience. New immigrant women, suffering from abuse, may have few options to escape this, if they are financially dependent on their male relative sponsors in Canada.

• Lesbians: There is little information about the economic status of lesbians. We only have isolated bits and pieces to go by, such as a Winnipeg study that found that 14% of gay men over 65 reported incomes below the poverty line, compared with 42% of lesbian seniors.[18]

• Migrant Women: Migrant women who are often refugees or foreign domestic workers are also particularly at risk of poverty and exploitation, as they are often forced to work in unregulated or hidden employment. Women make up the majority of migrant workers from Asia and many work here to sustain their families back home. They are paid low wages, and despite the fact that they contribute significantly to the Canadian economy, they are not entitled to many benefits such as EI[19].

• Low wage earners: In Canada it is not enough to have a job to keep you out of poverty.[20] Most poor people do work full- or part-time.[21] Poverty level wages are a particular problem for women. Women and youth account for 83% of Canada’s minimum wage workers.[22] 37% of lone mothers with paid employment must raise a family on less than $10 per hour.[23]

Women also make approximately 71%[24] of what men earn for full-year, full-time work. Education does not reduce the wage gap much: women with university degrees, employed full-year, full-time earned 74% of what men earned with university degrees.[25] The gap between what women and men (with University degrees) earn also widened between 1995 and 2000[26]. In fact, in 1997, a man employed full-year, full-time with less than a Grade 9 education earned on average $30,731, whereas a woman with a post-secondary certificate or diploma earned less for full-year, full-time work: $29,539.[27] Women earn less than men even if they work in the same sectors or even in the same jobs. There are no occupations in which women’s average earnings exceed men’s, not even in female-dominated areas such as clerical work and teaching.[28] Canada has the largest wage gap between women and men full-time workers out of world’s 29 most developed countries. Only Spain, Portugal, Japan and Korea have larger wage gaps.[29]

• Women on welfare, and their children: In 2001, 60% of single mothers relied on welfare at some point[30]. 52% of Canada’s social assistance recipients are made up of families with children[31]. One quarter (24%) of welfare families are headed by people with some form of disability.[32] All welfare rates in Canada are far below the poverty line, ranging from 20% to 76% below

• http://www.criaw-icref.ca/factSheets/Women%20and%20Poverty/Poverty%20Fact%20sheet_e.htm