Kate Bezanson, Associate Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Associate Professor of Sociology, co-wrote a piece in Air Quotes Media with Executive Advisor to Mohamad Fakih, Chair of the Fakih Foundation Andrew Bevan and Professor of Early Childhood Education at Sheridan College Monica Lysack, about rebuilding childcare for a fair recovery and stronger economy.

They write:

“We are seeing in real time how critical childcare is for Canada to reopen and rebuild from the COVID-19 crisis. In early June, the national labour force survey revealed that the employment of women with pre-school children recovered at half the pace of women with school-aged children and less than half the pace of men with pre-school children. This month, Statistics Canada starkly concluded that ‘in all age groups, men are closer to pre-shutdown employment levels than women.’

When the crisis hit, women were the first called, or pushed, out of the labour market, making this Canada’s first care and service sector led recession — what some call a pink collar recession’ or ‘she-cession.’

Without immediate investments and planning for childcare system building, women will be both the first out and last back. Such a debilitating outcome yields massive consequences both for households and our economy, including stalled growth, decreased taxation revenues for governments, and increased poverty for women and children.”

Continue reading the full article here.