Manitoba's Golden Boy gets C+ on commitment to women's equality

Manitoba's first-ever Equality Report Card was released on International Women's Day on Monday, March 8, 2010. The province received a cumulative grade of C+ on its commitment to women's equality. “While much progress has been made, much more remains to be done,” comments Jennifer deGroot, executive director of UNPAC, who coordinated the report. “It's been 40 years since the Royal Commmission on the Status of Women yet we still earn only 69 cents for every dollar earned by a man and don't have access to a child care system that meets our needs.”

Dr. Lorna Turnbull, Associate Professor of Law at the University of Manitoba says, “We're not there yet. Women's inequality has a major impact on their daily lives. This inequality increases when they have children and as they age. The Manitoba Government needs to do more to acknowledge and address the barriers and challenges faced by Manitoba women, for example the more than 55,000 women who live in inadequate housing.”

Manitoba's grade is slightly higher than grades recently assigned to other provinces. Prince Edward Island received a C in 2009 and British Columbia a D. “We've been encouraged by the work that has been done yet we are still frustrated that the W-word [Woman] is so absent in the halls of power,” says Jennifer deGroot. “We want to dispel the myth that women have made it.”

The report was a collaboration between several women's organizations and coordinated by UNPAC – an organization committed to women's equality and empowerment.