City ranks low in quality of life for women

Report cites gender gap in opportunities

It’s tough to be a woman in Windsor, according to a new report that ranks the city as one of the worst places in Canada for women’s quality of life.

High levels of unemployment and poverty are taxing on all residents, but it would seem life in this region poses extra challenges for the female demographic.

The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives assessed data from Statistics Canada to compare how men and women fare in five categories — economic security, leadership, health, professional security and education.

The Best and Worst Places to be a Woman in Canada 2015 report rates Windsor 22nd overall out of the country’s 25 largest cities.

The low score comes as a result of limited opportunities for local women and other gender inequalities compared to communities like Victoria, Gatineau and Quebec City, which were the top-ranked cities, respectively.

Despite women being more likely than men to complete high school, college or university in Windsor, they are less likely to find jobs. Windsor women earn 77 cents for every dollar their male counterparts earn. Twenty-four per cent of women in Windsor are living below the Low Income Measure compared to 15 per cent of men.

“Windsor does a really good job supporting women to achieve high-level education attainment, but somehow that isn’t getting translated into support for those women to move into leadership roles,” said Kate McInturff, the author of the report, .

“The places that seem to do a good job at bridging that gap are really looking at that worklife balance,” she added, citing Quebec’s affordable child care services as an example of effective support for single mothers living in poverty.

The report also suggests Windsor holds fewer leadership opportunities for women than men, noting that Ward 6 Coun. Jo-Anne Gignac is the only woman on city council.

Women’s representation among elected officials throughout the region is 21 per cent, and there are twice as many male senior managers in the city than female.

“These numbers are scary,” said Sara Santarossa of Actively Engaging Female Leaders, a local group that promotes leadership and physical activity among women.

She believes the first step toward shrinking the gender gap begins with an attitude adjustment.

“There’s definitely a stigma surrounding women in leadership positions,” she said. “Sometimes if men are already running things, there’s a mindset that it’s a man’s world and it’s hard for females to get into those positions. We need to inspire young females and create leaders that way, because equality is essential for a better society.”

The rate of intimate partner violence reported to Windsor police is higher than average, with 175 documented incidents of sexual and domestic violence against women in 2013.

The CCPA report explains that most incidents of sexual violence and abuse go unreported. Windsor’s population of more than 210,800 people is served by one sexual health clinic.

Achieving gender equality is “not rocket science,” said McInturff. “It’s just about asking questions, keeping track and working to bridge the gap where we find it.”

While there is room for improvement, McInturff believes there is also cause for optimism.

“You can see all kinds of initiatives that are happening in Windsor and in cities across the country that are working really well, and we need to encourage our decision-makers and political leaders to pay more attention to what is working so we can learn from each other,” she said.

“I think if we can do that, we can really make every city in Canada a great place to be a woman.”