As we celebrate International Women’s Day, it is important that we don’t overlook the recent gender inequalities that have been brought to light by the pandemic.

Pandemic Life

This year’s International Women’s Day Rally is emphasizing the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on gender inequalities. Women are being forced out of the workforce and back into the home to care for their children. Many women lost their jobs throughout the pandemic, or are working from home, while taking care of their children and homeschooling.

If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that gender inequality still exists and is even more present now than in the recent past.

According to NOW Magazine, “Women, single parents; Black, Indigenous and racialized people; people who are low-income and people living with disabilities have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 and its economic fall out.”

As the burden of childcare falls primarily upon women’s shoulders with the rolling school and daycare closures, we need to assess how society can help women to relieve them of the extra strain.

Job Loss For Women

“By March, 1.5 million women in Canada lost their jobs due to the Pandemic,” according to RBC’s recent report. Women’s participation in the workforce has dropped drastically to its lowest level since the mid 1980’s.

How are governments helping women at a time like this? Frankly, they aren’t. The Canadian government has created a benefit, the CRCB – Canada Recovery Caregivers Benefit that pays $450/week to people who need to stay home to care for a child or loved one.

I was collecting the CRCB until my son got a spot at daycare. The decision to send my son to daycare during the pandemic was a difficult one. I’ve had to weigh the risks of health and safety against my son’s need for socialization.

I decided to send him to daycare so he could play with other kids while I actively seek remote work opportunities.

Childcare Falls Short To Support Women

My son attended daycare for a week and a half until he came home with a runny nose. I kept him home for the weekend and called the daycare the following Monday to report his absence and notify them of his symptoms–a runny nose and a cough. They told me that in order for him to return to childcare he needs to get a COVID-19 test. For reference, my son is 2 and a half years old.

My other option is to quarantine him for two weeks (provided he has no new symptoms) before he can return to childcare. While he stays home I can collect the CRCB. I’m thankful for that, but if I had a full-time job, what would I tell my employer?

A friend of mine is a single mother with two school-age children and she hasn’t had a week to herself since schools reopened. Her daughter had a headache and they sent her home to isolate and get tested. She finally got her daughter back in class when they sent her son home for a runny nose. Before the pandemic she worked in a restaurant that has since closed. I can see how her life has changed throughout the pandemic. It’s affected her financially and physically being a single parent.

As a single parent myself who is looking for gainful employment, my options are limited. I have a degree, sure, but I need a job with flexibility and working from home is non-negotiable. My schedule may need to be changed on a whim, whenever the daycare calls.

A Sexist Societies Perspective

Now I’m not writing this to have anyone feel sorry for me, I’m writing it to prove a point. As a woman who is unmarried and university educated, I already have the advantages afforded by white privilege in a system of societal inequality.

Yet, it is extremely trying to find a job working for someone else that will not only be understanding of my predicament, but support it. The fact that I even need to explain “my situation” to employers frustrates me beyond belief. Many parents are in the same boat due to the added strain of COVID-19 restrictions. Work absences should be paid and normalized for a variety of reasons–from illness to childrearing.

Before I had my son, I worked as an actor and a journalist. Both jobs require me to go to often distant places for lenghy hours at a time–sometimes up to 14-hour days. Now that simply isn’t an option for me anymore. I still accept acting jobs on occasion. However, it’s a challenge to co-ordinate who will look after my son when I’m gone to set without knowing when I’ll be back.

Again my mind goes back to equality of the sexes. I would say that his father could help support him because he’s self-employed. Two years ago I was granted a child support order. I haven’t seen a dime of it since.

When Community Calls

I’ve recently considered joining a commune in Costa Rica. Communities are popping up around the world where people are gathering to create different societies. Living in harmony with the planet and growing their own food with other like-minded individuals. As the isolation of COVID-19 has illustrated, people are realizing that they need the support of a community. Especially single mothers.

The saying, “It takes a village to raise a child” is an African proverb. It means that, “an entire community of people must interact with children for those children to experience and grow in a safe and healthy environment,” according to Wikipedia.

Our lives have become increasingly isolating during the pandemic that now we have lost our way. If you look at indigenous tribes, a lot of them are matriarchal. They revolve around the principle of mother-rule, where women are at the top of the power structure. These societies emphasize maternal values such as: “to nurture the natural, social and cultural life based on mutual respect,” according to StyleCraze.com.

Is Equality Equal?

As women, we populate this earth–no one will survive without us. Yet, as a member of modern society we are underrepresented, repressed and our merit is fundamentally undervalued. Basically I’m saying, we need an equal power structure that considers matriarchal values. Women should be valued to procreate, as they are providing an essential service to the human race!

Not only that, we have been fighting for equality for over a century without reaching our target. The pandemic has emphasized that our society is out of balance. How can we tip the scales to offer women a fighting chance to be as successful as their male counterparts? Why are women being measured against them? Can we create new metrics of success that support women?

I don’t have the answers, but I know that when enough people ask questions and demand things be different, change happens. We’ve seen some headway on racial inequality which has been in the spotlight in recent years, but gender inequality is still an underlying factor. This is why intersectional feminism is so important now.

Precarious Employment

How will women come out of this pandemic? Gainfully employed and financially secure? I hope so. But something has got to change. The majority of frontline workers are female–healthcare workers, childcare workers and even grocery store employees.

In December of 2019 I went for an interview for an editor job at a trade magazine. When we discussed the terms of my employment, I asked the employer for one flexible workday a week. I rationed that was doable, in case I needed to take my son to a doctors appointment or something. He couldn’t even comprehend the meaning behind “flexible workday” so it was like my requests were falling on deaf ears. All of the editorial duties can be done remotely, apart from the actual layout construction of the magazine. He asked about my personal life and whether I had a supportive husband. I knew that his question was out-of-bounds. I was honest and told him I am a single parent with family support. He looked increasingly uneasy, even though I was qualified for the job. Needless to say, I didn’t get the job.

My point is that things need to change. Employers need to be flexible, especially now, but before the pandemic too. As women, how are we able to succeed when we have to choose between our work-life and our home-life? We need to have a work and home-life balance. This is non-negotiable. Employers reading this, need to reconsider the sexist doctrine that is the undercurrent of business. I guarantee that sexism runs rampant in the office walls. Be at the forefront of change. Treat your employees as people who have other priorities that are more important than work–because family is number one.

The Fate of Feminism

I made a documentary in 2018 about 4th Wave Feminism. You can watch my documentary 4th Wavers here.

So much has changed since then and women’s rights have been backsliding since March 2020. You could say we are entering the 5th Wave of feminism. The 4th Wave of feminism saw the emergence of an online social movement for the first time. Social media and commentary propelled the movement with hashtags like #METOO. We also saw the increasing importance of intersectionality and how race and gender can impact women’s rights.

Now in 2021 I feel we are reaching a new age of activism and I would consider it the 5th Wave of feminism. Everything has gone virtual, even this years International Women’s Day Rally in Toronto. The impact of COVID-19 has affected women’s rights around the world. On a global scale, women are seeing their rights ripped out from right under them. More women have lost their jobs than ever before. I would consider this a crisis for women. In these times, what else can we do other than (virtually) band together in solidarity?

International Women’s Day

The Toronto rally for International Women’s Day has gone virtual. This year’s theme is Rising Above The Pandemic – Fighting For A Just Future For All. March 6, starts at 1 pm. Free. You can watch it on Facebook LIVE  facebook.com/IWDToronto IWD Toronto Website.

Here’s a preview of what to expect:

I hope to see you online as we fight for the freedom and rights that all women deserve.

xox Ruby