A new study suggests Saskatoon and Regina remain two of the worst cities in Canada to be a woman

“Speaking on behalf of a traditionally female-dominated profession, and as a committed feminist, I am disappointed to see Saskatchewan’s major cities featuring so low down on rankings such as women's access to personal and economic security, education and health. These things really are all fundamental human rights and not just women’s rights. In truth though, I’d like to a see a Saskatchewan and a Canada where studies like these are no longer needed – an equal and fair society from coast to coast to coast. We clearly have much work yet to do.”

 

 

Leader Post: http://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/saskatoon-regina-among-worst-cities-in-canada-to-be-a-woman-annual-study/wcm/40416a15-3b9c-479b-bfc9-df5cf4270781 

The study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives looks at differences between men’s and women’s access to economic and personal security, education, health and positions of leadership in Canada’s 25 biggest cities.

The study, which was released Tuesday, ranked Saskatoon 19th out of 25 major Canadian cities; the two previous years, Saskatoon ranked 21st. The last three years of the survey have been drastically different from the results in 2014, when Saskatoon was declared the second-best city in the country for women to live.

Regina, meanwhile, dropped from 18th last year to 21st this year.

For the second year in a row, the survey declared Victoria as the best city to be a woman in Canada, while Windsor, Ont., rated last among the country’s 25 largest metropolitan areas.

According to the CCPA survey, Saskatoon ranks 23rd out of 25 in economic security, 21st in security, 15th in leadership, 12th in education and ninth in health.

Regina, meanwhile, ranks 22nd in economic security, 22nd in security, ninth in leadership, 10th in education and 25th in health.

 The CCPA says Victoria is the only city on the list where more women than men are employed, and they account for nearly half of all senior managers and elected officials. But it says the wage gap in the city is on par with the rest of the country, with women earning 73 per cent of what men do — slightly worse than five years ago.

In Windsor, Ont., which ranked worst in the study, the wage gap is actually smaller than average, with women making about 75 per cent of what men earn. But the study says only 23 per cent of elected officials and 34 per cent of senior managers in the region are women, and women are more likely to be living below the poverty line than men.

The CCPA also says that sexual assault is the only violent crime that’s not on the decline in Canada, and every city still struggles with high rates of sexual and domestic violence.

“Statistics will never be a substitute for the full experience of lives lived. But as signposts they mark the spot where more attention is needed from our political leaders and policy-makers,” says study author Kate McInturff, a senior researcher at CCPA. “We hope they follow through.”

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Here is the CCPA’s ranking of the cities it studied:

1. Victoria

2. Gatineau

3. Hamilton

4. Kingston

5. Vancouver

6. Quebec City

7. St. John’s

8. Sherbrooke

9. Halifax

10. Toronto

11. Ottawa

12. London

13. Kelowna

14. Abbotsford-Mission

15. Montreal

16. St. Catharines-Niagara

17. Winnipeg

18. Edmonton

19. Saskatoon

20. Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo

21. Regina

22. Calgary

23. Barrie

24. Oshawa

25. Windsor