FEWO Committee Report

1.1. OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY

In May 2006, the Standing Committee on the Status of Women adopted a motion to undertake a study of the economic security of senior women. The Committee invited representatives from the Department of Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC), the National Council of Welfare and the National Advisory Council on Aging in June of 2006, and resumed its study in February 2007. The Committee heard that:

poverty rates among seniors — both men and women, singles and couples — have declined significantly over the past 25 years. Despite this impressive progress, senior women have higher rates of low income than their male counterparts. [1]

The Committee also heard that there were other groups of women who experience disproportionate levels of poverty, including “single-parent families headed by women, and women with disabilities.”[2]

Figure 1.1

Poverty rates using pre-and post-tax LICOs,([3]) 2004

Source: Brief submitted by the National Council of Welfare.

Witnesses during the preliminary meetings on the economic security of senior women urged the Committee to take a life cycle approach to the economic security of senior women. Sheila Regehr of the National Council of Welfare told the Committee[4]:

[Y]ou can’t take one population or one moment in time. There’s a tendency to talk about “poor people” or to talk about “ lone parents”, thinking that there’s this group of lone parents who are always lone parents, or that somebody living in poverty now is always going to be living in poverty. Those groups move in and out. A woman who’s a very contented middle-class woman is going to be a lone parent tomorrow. In a few years, when her children age, statistically she’s not counted as a lone parent any more, she’s an “unattached older woman” but she’s experiencing the legacy of her earlier years.

When the Committee resumed its study in the winter of 2007, it opted to widen its study to “ take into account the origins of older women’s poverty, including women’s lower earnings; their family responsibilities; the way in which they combine paid and unpaid work during their lifetimes; the changing structure of the paid workforce; and the fact that women, because of their greater life expectancy, will spend longer in old age, on average, than men will, and will likely be left on their own eventually.”[5] The Committee decided to look at the economic security of all women with a particular focus on immigrant women, rural women, Aboriginal women, women with disabilities, senior women and single mothers. Members of the Committee discussed a wide range of factors that ultimately result in women having lower incomes than men in their senior years, identifying factors such as:

§         the economic costs incurred by women who decrease their labour-force attachment to take on a greater role in unpaid caregiving;

§         women’s disproportionate share of non-standard work (part-time,
part-year, contract); and

§         lack of education and awareness on the long-term implications of work/family decisions among younger women.

The Committee held 18 meetings with departmental officials, individuals, professional organizations, researchers, and groups representing the interests of various groups of women from across Canada. This report captures the breadth of testimony heard by this Committee, and identifies the common challenges faced by many women as well as the particular challenges faced by specific groups of women.

The Committee heard that Canada’s retirement income system is recognized worldwide as one of the best, and that Canada ranks first among the G-7 countries in terms of the labour force participation rate for women aged 25 to 64. Despite this, women continue to confront situations of income insecurity.

Witnesses told the committee that a comprehensive strategy is required to properly address the economic security of women. The Committee acknowledges that it has insufficient testimony at this time to identify all the components that such a comprehensive strategy should encompass. Many of the witnesses who testified before the Committee also identified specific recommendations that could help improve the economic security of women. Thus, while this report should not be read as a comprehensive strategy to address economic security among women, it does propose a number of recommendations that the Committee believes could help ensure greater economic security for women in Canada.

1.2. ORGANIZATION OF THE REPORT

The economic security of women takes into account women’s income as well as opportunities available to women to secure liveable earnings; the supports that allow women to balance paid employment and caregiving, if they choose to participate in the labour force; and the recognition of the value of the caregiving that many women do. The economic security of women also takes into account the costs incurred by women, and the recognition that different groups of women incur different costs. And finally, the economic security of women requires that programs and policies recognize and accommodate the roles women play in the family and in the community.

The report reflects these aspects of economic security.

Chapter 2 provides an overview of the vulnerable groups which were identified.

Chapter 3 provides an overview of the income aspects of the economic security of women. It discusses trends in the labour force participation of women, the impact of the changing labour market on women, the impact of women’s unpaid work on their labour force participation, and barriers to paid work. The chapter also examines other sources of income, including government transfers to individuals and private pension plans.

Chapter 4 identifies the costs incurred by women that have an impact on their economic security. It discusses testimony on subjects such as food, housing, transportation, healthcare and medical costs, child care, and elderly care.

Chapter 5 summarizes what the Committee heard about existing federal government programs and fiscal measures and discusses concerns identified by witnesses.

Chapter 6 provides other suggestions that were discussed by witnesses. These included the need to educate women about the financial implications of their decisions, the knowledge gaps that exist in current research on women’s economic security and proposals for national initiatives.