ELCC and Canadian women

In Canada, the labour force participation rates of women with children have risen dramatically over the last 25 years. In 2003, 75% of mothers with the youngest child aged 3-5 years were in the paid labour force. Furthermore, when compared to other OECD countries, Canada’s labour force participation rates of mothers are high. These working mothers face a double workload in society as they face the difficult challenge of balancing work and family responsibilities. (See Trends and Analysis for more information about Canadian mothers in the paid labour force.)

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948) proclaims that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” In 1979, the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) – an international agreement that Canada ratified. As a signatory, Canada pledges “to ensure the equal right of men and women to enjoy all economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights”. In its evaluation of Canada’s progress in January 2003, the UN CEDAW Committee recommended that Canada should “expand affordable child care facilities under all governments and…report, with nationwide figures, on demand, availability and affordability of child care in its next report” (Paragraph 380).

Access to reliable early learning and child care (ELCC) is a key – but not the only – support for women’s equality. The 1984 Royal Commission on Equality in Employment said that, “child care is the ramp that provides equal access to the workforce of mothers”. Access to ELCC is additionally critical for low-income women to overcome poverty and isolation. And finally, women working in the home often want quality experiences for their children too – all women want their children to have opportunities for developmental, enriching learning experiences in safe environments.

This Issue File collects selected readings that recognize the importance of accessible and affordable ELCC to women’s economic equality and to fully engaging in society. This Issue File is organized into five sections:

- online contextual information about the conditions facing women in Canada;
- online documents about Canada’s international commitments and ELCC;
- online documents that feature the importance of ELCC for women’s equality;
- print resources; and
- useful websites for additional readings.

Women in Canada
SOURCE The Daily, Statistics Canada, March 7, 2006 / In html

Trends and analysis: Early childhood education and care in Canada 2004
(see “demographic context”)
SOURCE Childcare Resource and Research Unit, 2005 / In pdf

Women in Canada: Work chapter updates 2003
SOURCE Statistics Canada, March 24, 2004 / In pdf

Women in Canada: Work chapter updates 2002
SOURCE Statistics Canada, March 24, 2003 / In pdf

CANADA’S INTERNATIONAL COMMITMENTS AND ELCC

Canada’s commitment to equality: A gender analysis of the last ten federal budgets (1995-2004)
SOURCE Feminist Alliance for International Action, 08 Feb 05 / In pdf

A decade of going backwards: Canada in the Post-Beijing era
SOURCE Feminist Alliance for International Action, 01 Jan 05 / In pdf or doc

British Columbia moves backwards on women's equality: Submission of the B.C. CEDAW group to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women on the occasion of the Committee’s review of Canada’s 5th report
SOURCE Feminist Alliance for International Action, 23 Jan 03 / In pdf

Report of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women: Twenty-eighth session (13-31 January 2003)
SOURCE UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Jan 03 / In pdf

Canada's failure to act: Women's inequality deepens: Submission of the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women on the occasion of the Committee's review of Canada's 5th report
SOURCE Feminist Alliance for International Action, 01 Jan 03

Women and the equality deficit: The impact of restructuring Canada’s social programs
by Day, Shelagh & Brodsky, Gwen
SOURCE Status of Women Canada, 1998 / In pdf and html
Also available in French.

Note: For more about Canada’s international commitments on women’s equality, see:
Feminist Alliance for International Action

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This list in not intended to be an exhaustive examination of this topic; for a more comprehensive list, search the Childcare Resource and Research Unit resource library catalogue Childcare Information Resource Collection (CIRC).