Minister Ien - Gender Equality Week Video Message

Video Transcript:

Hello. I’m Marci Ien, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth.

It’s Gender Equality Week in Canada, a time to recognize the progress we’ve made in advancing gender equality while also acknowledging that there is so much more work to be done.


So this year’s theme, Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities, represents the country we aspire to be because we understand that while we all have the same rights in the eyes of the law, regardless of our gender, we don’t all have access to the same opportunities. And this has to change.

We have to work together, keep fighting for change, so that everyone, no matter their gender, has a fair chance.

As a government, we’ve been working with partners and communities to help reduce gaps in the workforce and in every aspect of our country.

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted women and gender-diverse communities in significant ways. Reported employment losses spiked, reversing Canada’s progress on gender parity in the labour force.

In fact, according to the 2022 World Economic Forum’s annual Global Gender Gap Report, Canada ranked 43rd in economic participation, with 73.6% of the gender-based gap closed.

So what does that mean?

It means this: that as a country, seeing full gender representation that was once estimated to take 100 years, will now take 132 years post-pandemic.

This serves as a stark reminder that we all need to continue to do our part and work together to ensure gender is never an obstacle for anyone in Canada.

Because equal rights should always mean equal opportunities.