Canada’s Moment to Lead: Advancing Gender Equality

As Canada navigates a complex landscape of social, political, and economic challenges, one truth stands unshakeable: gender equality is the bedrock of a stronger, more resilient future. The evidence is compelling—closing gender gaps in the workforce alone could inject billions of dollars into Canada’s GDP. When we prioritize gender equality as a national imperative, we don’t just empower half the population—we build a more inclusive, peaceful, happy, and prosperous Canada that benefits everyone. 

Women, girls, and gender-diverse people have made remarkable strides in recent decades. Legislation, cultural shifts, and grassroots advocacy have heightened awareness, expanded career opportunities, and increased representation in leadership roles. Yet, despite these achievements, rising economic instability, increasing gender-based violence, and shifting social policies cast shadows over progress. And stubborn barriers continue to hold too many back from achieving their full potential.

Priorities for Change

At the Canadian Women’s Foundation, we believe bold action in these critical areas is needed to create a truly equitable Canada:

Addressing Women’s Poverty

Economic security is a key pillar of gender equality, yet far too many women and gender-diverse people in Canada are trapped in a cycle of financial instability, forced to choose between rent, food or childcare.

In 2021, 11.4% of women, 31.3% of single mothers, and 22.2% of single women lived in poverty. Intersecting barriers have deepened this crisis for Indigenous, racialized, newcomer, transgender, and senior women, as well as women with disabilities. Without systemic interventions, poverty will continue to be entrenched for generations to come. 

To combat this crisis, we must:

• Expand childcare access—a proven lever to enable workforce participation, reduce poverty, close pay gaps, and build the economy.
• Ensure a living wage and strengthen income supports like social assistance and tax credits to help women cover basic needs. 
• Prioritize affordable, stable housing. The threat of eviction or homelessness looms large for women escaping violence, single mothers, and seniors on fixed incomes. Expand subsidized housing units, enforce rent controls, and fast-track supportive housing projects.
• Fund self-employment and job training programs for women with wrap-around supports like transportation funding, childcare, mentorship, and sponsorship opportunities.

Closing Gender Pay Gaps

Women in Canada continue to face pay gaps which hinder their financial independence and long-term security. In 2022, women earned 84 cents for every dollar earned by men ( a 16.3% gap), widening for racialized women, Indigenous women, newcomer women and women with disabilities. Girls experience a summer job pay gap of nearly $3 per hour, and women retire with a 22% pension gap. To date, no Canadian company reporting data has closed its pay gap. 

To address this, we need to: 

• Enforce pay equity laws and pay transparency policies.
• Conduct ongoing audits of compensation and advancement opportunities, ensuring equitable promotion and leadership representation. 
• Prioritize workplace flexibility for mothers and caregivers. 
• Fund skills training and education in high-demand sectors, such as tech and skilled trades, to increase earning potential and close wage gaps.

Boosting Feminist Entrepreneurship

Women entrepreneurs are a driving force in Canada’s economy, yet they continue to face significant barriers to success. Women-owned businesses, comprising 36.8% of self-employed ventures, employ 1.5 million and drive $150 million into Canada’s economy annually, yet women entrepreneurs launch their businesses with 53% less capital than men, making it harder to scale and sustain operations. Indigenous women, newcomer women, and gender-diverse founders face even greater obstacles in accessing the funding, networks, training, and mentorship needed to thrive.  

To unlock the full potential of women entrepreneurs, we must:

• Increase grants and loan programs for feminist startups, prioritizing diverse founders. 
• Expand government procurement opportunities for women-owned businesses. 
• Embed a gender lens in economic research and policymaking to ensure women’s entrepreneurship is recognized and supported.
• Include women-founded ventures in Canada’s AI and technology transformation through targeted investments, accelerator programs, and policy frameworks that address funding disparities in the tech sector. 

Addressing Gender-Based Violence

A woman or girl is killed by violence every 48 hours in Canada, and the proportion of Indigenous women killed continues to be significantly higher, with at least one in five victims (or 20%) being an Indigenous woman or girl.

Gender-based violence is a crisis that demands urgent action. Nearly half (46%) of women and gender-diverse people in Canada have experienced some form of unwanted sexual behaviour in public—almost double the rate experienced by men. Survivors often struggle to access justice and support due to systemic barriers, underfunded services, and a culture that normalizes harassment and abuse. 

To end this crisis, we must:

• Invest in local, community-led gender-based violence prevention programs. Governments often focus on policing and prosecution, but most incidents of sexual assault and abuse go unreported due to safety concerns for survivors.
• Scale up crisis lines, shelters, transitional housing services, and support for children who have witnessed violence to ensure survivors have safe exits from dangerous situations and the resources to rebuild their lives.
• Establish workplace policies that support employees experiencing gender-based violence: this includes becoming a Signal for Help Workplace Responder at www.signalforhelp.ca/work

A Call to Act Now

At the Canadian Women’s Foundation, we envision a Canada where every woman, girl, and gender-diverse person has the power, safety, support, and right to thrive—a nation where poverty doesn’t trap, pay gaps don’t persist, entrepreneurship isn’t stifled, and violence isn’t routine.

We’ve been doing this work for 30 years. We don’t shy away from systemic change. We see barriers and build solutions, whether that’s around economic independence, addressing gender-based violence, or advancing the leadership of young women. We know that when women and gender-diverse people have the resources, support, and opportunities they deserve, everyone benefits—families, communities, businesses, and the economy.

The time isn’t coming—it’s here. As we mark International Women’s Day this March 8^th, we stand at a pivotal moment to reflect on how far we’ve come and to rally for the bold changes still needed. We must take decisive action. Policymakers, businesses, and community leaders must step up and implement meaningful reforms that will secure gender equality for future generations. Let’s make equality unshakeable together. Canada’s future depends on it.