WSN SPOTLIGHT: Canada's Women Of Colour Left Behind In COVID-19 Job Recovery

Canada has recouped more than 80 per cent of the jobs lost at the height of the COVID-19 crisis, but many precarious workers have not returned to work. The Women’s Solidarity Network is spotlighting the struggles women of colour are experiencing with unemployment. COVID-19 has impacted groups of workers differently, and recent Statistics Canada data released on unemployment rates show women of colour have been left behind. Findings from the data include:

  • The unemployment rate for women of colour was 10.5% in November, which is 0.5% higher than the rate for their male counterparts, and more than 4% higher than the rate for white women.

  • Black women had the highest unemployment rate at 13.4%.

  • South Asian women’s jobless rate (20.4%) was highest in July, but the rate had dropped to around 10% by November.

  • Chinese Canadian women, meanwhile, are the furthest from their pre-pandemic employment levels with an unemployment rate of 10.2% in November.

  • The disparity in economic stability between white and women of colour is not just an issue in Canada. A recent United Nations report shows that only 1 in 8 countries have measures in place to protect women from the social and economic impacts of COVID-19.

 

For a summary of the findings from the Statistics Canada data, see the Reuters article from Dec. 16, Canada's Women Of Colour Left Behind In COVID-19 Job Recovery, Data Shows.

IFPTEWomen's Solidarity Network, WSN, COVID-19, Equity, Canada