A new report recognizes Toronto as the best city to be a woman in Ontario, and the sixth in Canada overall.
The report, entitled the Best and Worst Places to Be A Woman in Canada, was issued by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and provides an Index of Gender Equality in Canada’s Twenty Largest Metropolitan Areas. It takes "a closer look at how women are faring in their communities," the report says, focusing on the gap between men and women.
Toronto's positioning as sixth overall shines both a positive and negative light on the discrepancies between women and men in Ontario's largest metropolitan area.
Where we shine the brightest is in the realm of education. Both women and men were found equally likely to hold high school or university degrees. When it comes to the trades and apprenticeships, however, men outnumbered women two to one.
When it comes to employment, our employment rates were consistent with national averages, at 66 per cent for men and 58 per cent for women. However, women's access to full-time employment was significantly lower than men's, and 44 per cent versus 58 per cent respectively. The report indicates that the wage gap is smaller than average, but still it women were found to earn 77 cents on the male dollar.
And when it comes to women in leadership, there's nothing we didn't already know. Men outnumbered women, with three out of four positions held by men. We fare slightly better in municipal politics, with women representing one in three elected city councillors.
Some good news for the city: Torontonians were found to have higher than average life expectancies regardless of sex, and men and women were equally likely to perceive their health as good or excellent.
Read the full report
here.
Original Source: Policy Alternatives