These are the best and worst cities to be a woman in Canada: Report

Oct 18 2017, 12:03 am

Victoria, BC, is the best place to be a woman in Canada, according to a new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

The annual study provides a snapshot of the gaps in men and women’s access to economic security, personal security, education, health, and positions of leadership in Canada’s largest 25 metropolitan areas.

The study measures these gaps in order to highlight inequalities that can be attributed, at least in part, to gender discrimination.

For the third year in a row Victoria, BC takes the top spot. The study notes that Victoria is the only city on the list where more women employed than men. The city also comes out on the top of the list when it comes to seeing women in positions of leadership.

In terms of education, women in Victoria are more likely than men to have completed high school, college or university. The number of women who hold university degrees (26%) is above the national average and higher than that of men in Victoria (25%).

Women also hold nearly half (45%) of elected positions in the region and are more likely to hold management positions in Victoria than in other cities.

In terms of Canada’s larger metropolitan cities, Vancouver and Toronto made it to the top ten, placing fifth and tenth on the list, respectively. Montreal and Calgary were ranked further down, coming in at 15th and 22nd place.

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

Windsor, Ontario, was ranked last on the list for the second year in a row. The study notes that employment rates are below national average for both men and women in Windsor. But in the past year, men’s employment rates rose faster than women’s.

The city is also failing when it comes to promoting leadership positions for women. Only one woman sits on the Windsor city council.

However, the report does note some positives for the city.

“Although Windsor finds itself again at the bottom of this list, the women of that city have much to be hopeful about,” says the study. “As depicted in the short film Her Windsor, the Ontario city’s residents find strength in their relatively smaller numbers. It is a city where women have fought successfully against the barriers of prejudice to lead in the fields of politics, business and healthcare.”

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