Thousands of women in Canada—many of them single mothers—live on the financial brink, trapped in a constant cycle of ‘one step forward, two steps back.’ Customized supports can help them get unstuck.

This story was originally published in the Spring 2015 issue of SHE Magazine. 

FOR YEARS, KRISTIN LUDLOW went from one low-paying job to another. She wanted more for herself: stability, financial independence, and work she cared about.

By the time she heard about the Women in Skilled Trades program in Burlington, she was in serious debt and had no savings. She successfully applied to the 29-week program but still struggled to make ends meet, even though the tuition was covered by the government.

Luckily for Kristin, the Women in Skilled Trades program included something special: an allowance to buy tools, work wear, and safety equipment. Without this extra support, she may not have been able to buy the tools that allowed her to find a job after graduation.

Over 1.5 million women in Canada live in poverty. Most, like Kristin, are working but earning low wages. “Just because you have a job and work 40 hours a week, doesn’t mean you’re going to get out of poverty,” says Ellen Faraday, a coordinator for the Women in Skilled Trades program.

A 2015 study found that there were more CEOs of S&P 1500 companies named John or David than there were women in the U.S. What can be done to get more women in upper management or on boards of big companies? And how can we ensure they’re getting equal pay to their male counterparts?

Sarah Kaplan has a few ideas.

Kaplan is the Director of the Institute for Gender and the Economy, a Distinguished Professor of Gender and the Economy, and Professor of Strategic Management at the Rotman School of Management.

We spoke to her about the work being done at the Institute, gender wage gap myths, and how the western world’s emphasis on talent and skill leaves privilege in the workplace unchecked.  

The fall equinox on September 22 marks the point in our journey around the sun when day and night are roughly equal.

But with about 30% of the year remaining, it’s also a date to mark a disturbing inequality. For women, this marks “Now You’re Working for Free Day.”

On average, women face a gender pay gap of 30%. The impact of that gap is as if women continued to work from now – mid-September – to the end of the year with no pay at all while men received their full pay. Every year. For their whole career.

While sex discrimination in pay has been prohibited by law for decades, it persists. The gender pay gap remains a human rights crisis that impoverishes women across Canada.

Open Door Group is a non-profit provider of employment services. They provide an eight week employment program out of the Tradeworks Training Facility – providing training and employment services to women interested in Carpentry related Trades. Tradeworks Training Society is a society that assists women with barriers to employment by providing secure meaningful work in woodworking and fabrication. It has previously received Canadian Women’s Foundation funding from our Economic Development grants program.

Breaking Down Barriers, Building a New Life

Inti Cancino Rocha

For years I was looking for the opportunity to get into carpentry.

During this time, I attempted to work with two construction companies but did not have success due to my lack of skills, since my background was in graphic design.