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For Immediate Release
Government of Canada funding projects that empower women
February 7, 2017 – Moncton, NB – Status of Women Canada
On behalf of the Honourable Maryam Monsef, Minister of Status of Women, the Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Member of Parliament for Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance, announced today $424,000 in funding for a three year project that will aim to increase women’s participation in the democratic and public life.
This funding will be awarded to the NB Coalition for Pay Equity and their community partners to undertake a project that aims to identify barriers to pay equity in the private sector and to promote solutions to help remove these barriers. Pay equity is reached when female-dominated jobs are paid as much as male-dominated jobs of the same value. The main partners of this project are the New Brunswick South Central Transition House & Second Stage Coalition, Inc. and Forté Communications. The Services ruraux pour femmes victimes d’abus du Nouveau-Brunswick, UNIFOR, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), and EqualVoice will also be participating in this project.
Quick Facts
· Status of Women Canada is funding proposals for projects that will empower women to participate more actively in the democratic and public life of Canada.
· A record 88 women were elected to serve in Canada’s 42nd Parliament, representing 26 per cent of all Members of Parliament. For the first time in Canadian history, 50 per cent of federal Cabinet Ministers are women.
· At the municipal level, as of May 2015, 18 per cent of Canadian mayors and 28 per cent of city councillors were women.
· As of 2014, women represented 18.6 per cent of First Nations Band Chiefs. Of 2,728 Band Councillors, 801 (29 per cent) were women.
· Having the opportunity to participate in public life is an essential component of women’s empowerment and key to achieving gender equality. This International Women’s Day on March 8, 2016, the Government of Canada is highlighting the importance of women’s empowerment with the theme Women’s Empowerment Leads to Equality.
· The Government of Canada is asking Canadians to show us what empowerment means by tagging an inspiring woman on social media with the #YouAreEmpowerment hashtag.
Quotes
“ Having the opportunity to participate in democratic and public life is an essential part of women’s empowerment and essential in achieving gender equality. When women participate fully in the public life of our country, we all benefit from the diversity of perspectives, talent and experience they contribute. This funding will support projects that ensure that women in Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe will be able to achieve leadership positions.”
The Honourable Maryam Monsef, Minister of Status of Women
“As a society, it’s very important that we work towards gender equality. The more we encourage women to participate in the democratic and public life in our country and the more we give them the tools to do so, the more they will take their rightful place within our institutions and within our governance. By supporting these kinds of projects, we’re sending a strong message to all women that their involvement is valued and recognized”
The Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Member of Parliament for Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance
“Pay equity is an internationally recognized human right and it simply must become a reality. Because of the funding we’ve received for this project, we’ll now be able to work collaboratively with our partners and unite our efforts in order to truly advance pay equity in our private sector, which would be a hugely important development because nearly 66% of women in the New Brunswick workforce work in the private sector. ”
Johanne Perron, Executive Director, New Brunswick Coalition for Pay Equity
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Inquiries
Martin LeBlanc
Executive Assistant
The Office of the Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, P.C., M.P.
Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe
Tel: 506-851-3310
Nanci-Jean Waugh
Director General, Communications and Public Affairs
Status of Women Canada
Tel: 819-420-6810