BBOT Applauds Council for Women’s Advocacy “5 Recommendations to Support Women” During COVID-19

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The Canadian Chamber of Commerce, through its Council for Women’s Advocacy, has released 5 recommendations for actions the federal government can take to support women and foster economic growth during the COVID-19 recovery.  The Burnaby Board of Trade, with our own Women’s Business Success Network, applauds this effort by the Canadian Chamber, and echoes the need to support women, women in business, and women-owned businesses during COVID-19 and beyond.

The Council for Women’s Advocacy is calling on the federal government to immediately realize the following five recommendations to support women, foster inclusive recovery and ensure sustained economic growth. From improving access to childcare, to restarting schools, to better research

  1. A safe return to school is a critical element of getting women back to work. The CWA calls for the government to build upon the July 2020 ‘safe restart’ initiative, and work with provinces and territories to ensure there are safe policies in place for a full-time return to school in September 2020. This plan should take into account international experiences and best practice to date.
  2. Improved childcare options are a must-have to maximize women’s participation in the workforce. The CWA urges the federal government to augment and then expand the mandate of the Expert Panel on Early Learning and Child Care Data and Research. As part of this improvement, the government should:
    – Add parent and business community representatives to the Expert Panel to ensure all pertinent stakeholders are at the table and make informed decisions and recommendations.
    – Expand the mandate of the Expert Panel to include developing recommendations on tax incentives for both parents/guardians and childcare providers. This could require transforming the Expert Panel into a National Secretariat by the end of the calendar year, with recommendations to follow shortly thereafter.
  3. Extend eligibility for the Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy to include hiring in-home childcare so business owners can return to work.
  4. Track and breakdown data for federal funding and programming for businesses, similar to what has been done by Statistics Canada for individuals. This data should include specific measurements of female-owned businesses and entrepreneurs, but also their ratios of applications, rates of successful applications, and timing for funding received. This data should be used to inform improvements in funding and programming going forward.
  5. Earmark recovery funding for upskilling and re-skilling women. As a significant and ground-breaking undertaking with a longer-term horizon, it is critically important to start and start now.

Read more about these recommendations here.