International Women's Day is March 8th, and we're sending a message that implementing the $10aDay Child Care Plan is one of the most effective ways the BC government can promote women’s equality in our province.
As part of the $10aDay week of action we encourage you to use the facts below to send a letter to the editor of your local newspaper telling your reasons why you support $10aDay on International Women’s Day.
Women largely carry the burden of BC’s child care crisis:
- Less than 20% of children under the age of 12 in BC have access to a regulated child care space, and many women are unable to enter the paid workforce because they are unable to secure care for their children.
- Women spend approximately twice as many hours as men performing unpaid child care — an average of over 50 hours each week.
- If they can secure employment, they may take part-time or precarious work in order to balance work with caregiving or reduce the cost of child care.
- In Metro Vancouver, child care costs are the second highest family expense after housing, taking up approximately 23% of a family’s monthly budget.
- The child care crisis leaves many of BC’s college and university trained Early Childhood Educators (ECEs), most of whom are women, living in poverty because of low wages.
The good news is that we can solve the child care crisis in a way that promotes women’s equality. The $10aDay Child Care Plan will create quality spaces for children, affordability for families, and better wages and levels of education for educators.
Will you support the $10aDay Plan by sending a letter to the editor of your local newspapers today?
