Many governments have taken the low road and implemented policies that further widen the gap between women and men, between rich and poor. The shortchanged campaign calls for us to take the high road—to make policy and financing decisions to ensure that men and women are paid equally, to create economic opportunities for women and to reduce women's burden of unpaid care.

“Governments around the world are at a crossroads on economic decision making. Canada is well positioned to take the high road. With a feminist Prime Minister and a government committed to inclusive growth, what other road is there to take?”

- Kelly Bowden, Oxfam Canada's Manager of Campaigns

It all starts with people like you and me, recognizing that we didn’t get here by accident – it was a series of deliberate policy and spending decisions made by governments around the world.

In January 2017 volunteers across the country met with their Members of Parliament to discuss how the Canadian government can make work paid, equal and valued for women everywhere. Volunteers delivered key actions for the government to take, including ensuring living wages in Canada, investing in public services, and making a feminist federal budget. From Nanaimo, British Colombia to Burlington, Ontario, Canadians support an economy that works for women.

Over the next two years our goal is to build widespread consensus amongst decision-makers, influencers, and the public that the gap between rich elites and the rest is unacceptable, that gender inequality is both a cause and consequence of economic inequality, and that a package of radical reforms (economic, political, and social) is needed to curb the rising gap between the rich and the rest.

Share this Story