MAKING WOMEN COUNT the unequal economics of women’s work

Yet jobs and wages are essential to the economic security of the vast majority of people and the ability of governments to generate revenue and provide for the well-being of citizens. [...] The imbalance between those with economic power and those without is evident in the gross inequalities between the salaries of CEOs (most of whom are men) and the employees working at the bottom of their supply chains in the developing world (most of whom are women). [...] The result has been a dramatic increase in the number of fathers taking leave after the birth of a child—with 76% of men in Quebec taking parental leave compared to 26% of men in the rest of Canada.63 The number of women taking parental leave has remained stable under 10 MAKING WOMEN COUNT the unequal economics of women’s work the program. [...] The rise and fall of the oil sector in Alberta is a prime example of the dangers of investing exclusively in male-dominated sectors.72 Alberta, with the support of the previous federal government, has pursued policies focussed on jobs in the extractive and construction sectors. [...] The lack of investment in jobs in health and education, where women are most likely to work, left many women working in the lowest paying female-dominated occupations—retail and food service.73 The result: While oil prices were high and the province’s economy was growing, women in Alberta experienced the largest wage gap in the country.74 As oil prices fell and jobs in male-dominated industries di.