A study released October 13 by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has found that for women, Victoria is the place to be.
One of the reasons for the city taking top spot among 25 cities across the country is the number of women in political leadership. Victoria is one of the only cities in the study with a female mayor. As well, it is one of the few cities with more women on council than men.
The city also scored well in terms of economic security, coming in fifth in the country for this category. The gap between men’s and women’s levels of employment is the lowest in the country, but this is partly due to a lower-than-average employment rate among men.
The CCPA found the wage gap is higher than average in Victoria, however, with women earning 73% of what men earn overall, compared with around 77% nationwide. The gap widens for full-time workers; women working full-time make 71% of what their male counterparts earn.
Victoria women are slightly more likely to have finished high school or university than are men in that city. The study found 26% of women have university degrees, compared with 25% of men. On the other hand, men are much more likely than women to have completed trades training or apprenticeships.
Vancouver ranked 9th in the study, scoring well in terms of health. Life expectancy in the city reached the highest level across the country. The wage gap is average, but it narrows among full-time workers, with women making 83% of what men make. However, more men than women hold jobs (64% compared with 58%).
The worst place to be a woman, according to the study, is Windsor, Ontario. One of the reasons the city scored so poorly is a low number of women in political leadership roles. Windsor also has the highest percentage of women living in poverty, at 24%.
Check out the full study here.
@EmmaHampelBIV
