100th anniversary of International Women's Day
To mark the 100th anniversary of womens day, HSA is making available celebratory stickers (click here to view sample).
As the Canadian Labour Congress recently noted:
Without question, Canadian women have made pension gains in recent decades. This is particularly true for women workers in the public sector, and women retirees with access to public pensions.
Some think times have changed now that the majority of working-age women are on the job. But that isnt true at all.
Women still dont earn equal pay for work of equal value. Canadian women make 70.5 cents for every dollar men earn. As a result, theyll face challenges accumulating the same pension income as men. Indeed, women are told they need to save 8 to 10% more than men because they live longer through their retirement years.
Secondly, while expectations for working women have changed, caregiving expectations have not. Women still shoulder the bulk of unpaid caregiving work for children and seniors. In 2009, 72.9% of women with children under the age of 16 living at home were employed. In 2002, over 2 million Canadians provided personal care for seniors. Three-quarters of these caregivers were women.
The absence of affordable, publicly-funded child care and elder care has put working women in stressful and frustrating circumstances.
One hundred years later, we have achieved many victories ... but we must stay focused on the goal of equality for all women.
Chief stewards can contact Pattie McCormack at @email for their supply of stickers.
For a list of upcoming womens day activities, check www.hsabc.org in the coming days.