Sturgeon County’s mayor has called for women to stand up for their beliefs as part of a free conference meant to boost Canada out of our COVID-based “she-cession.”
Up to 100 people aged 16 and up are expected to attend the free online International Women’s Day Finding Your Strength conference offered by Sturgeon County on March 7, which is the day before International Women’s Day.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on women workers, so much so that it has been called a “she-cession” instead of a recession, said Sturgeon County Mayor Alanna Hnatiw. The pandemic caused mass unemployment among service and retail workers and put immense pressure on teachers, doctors, and nurses — all jobs often held by women, many of whom also had to care for sick family members at the same time.
Hnatiw said the county’s Family and Community Support Services department decided to hold its first-ever International Women’s Day conference this year to give women tools and inspiration to get back into the workforce post-COVID. The event features talks from five inspirational Alberta women and is a joint venture of Sturgeon County, Redwater, Gibbons, Leduc County, Careers Under Construction, and the Bredin Centre for Career Advancement.
Inequality and inspiration
Many studies have shown that men and women are not on equal footing in the world of work. Statistics Canada reports that women earned about 87 cents for every dollar earned by men in 2018 — a pay gap of about 13 per cent. Two-thirds of this gap could not be explained, with work experience and gender bias flagged as possible causes.
Many jobs penalize women for taking time off to raise kids, said conference speaker Tara Eruteya, executive director of Freedom Tree (a Calgary-based charity which works to reduce infant and maternal mortality in West Africa). She noted how tennis star Serena Williams saw her international rank plummet from No. 1 to 453 when she took maternity leave, forcing her to play against tougher competition and resulting in injuries.
The gender pay gap can also push women to stay at home, resulting in less work experience, said Hnatiw, another speaker at the conference. She said she chose to stay home and raise her kids years ago because she knew her husband could earn more as a man. Other women find the cost of child care to be so high that it wipes out their wages and makes work pointless.
Stereotypes are another barrier for women workers, Hnatiw said. Assertive men are seen as leaders, for example, while assertive women are seen as obstinate and difficult.
Those biases shape workplace behaviours, Eruteya said. Women are more likely than men to give up after one attempt at something for fear of being seen as arrogant or prideful, for example. Likewise, back when she ran a commercial painting company, Eruteya said she saw how men would consistently exaggerate their skills and demand high pay when applying for jobs while women would always undersell their abilities and ask for less.
Statistics Canada notes that the gender pay gap shrunk about six per cent between 1998 and 2018 as women attained higher education levels and more men dropped out of high-paying union jobs.
Hnatiw said Sturgeon County passed a parental leave policy in 2020 to support men and women who want to raise kids while in public office. Recent federal and provincial child-care subsidies should also make a huge difference for women seeking to re-enter the workforce.
Education is vital for equality, as educated women are better able to advocate for themselves, earn money, and seek medical care, Eruteya said. Finding mentors through groups such as Alberta Women Entrepreneurs can also help women get new ventures off the ground.
Hnatiw encouraged women to be courageous and resilient in their lives, and to stand up for their beliefs.
“We’re not responsible for other people’s biases. We are responsible for how they affect us.”
The conference runs from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. March 7, and will be archived on the Sturgeon County website. Visit sturgeoncounty.ca/WomensDay for details.
