Humanity has evolved in a male-centered, patriarchal society. Historically, men were always the main suppliers of food and money. Women were the ones who had a duty to look after the home and raise the children. Women were financially dependent on men and lost their financial support as a consequence of separation, divorce and/or death. Over the last century, Canadian women have increasingly participated in paid employment; however, women continue to struggle for equal opportunities such as job advancement and pay equality. This essay illustrates that women's work is not recognized as equal to men as women are paid less for the same positions. Also they tend to hold the majority of low paid occupations. The discourse within these inequalities will be discussed along with theoretical approaches that can be used to help women overcome this systematic inequality.
Statistics on Poverty among Women and Current Obstacles Women Face in Relationship to Employment.
Currently in Canada, women continue to struggle for financial well-being. Women are faced with oppression with regards to pay equality, career advancement and equitable treatment. Morris (2014) suggests, "a newborn child, just because she happens to be born female, is more likely to grow up to be poor as an adult. Women form the majority of the poor in Canada. Morris (2014) supports this by indicating that "one in seven (2.4 million) Canadian women is living in poverty today" (para.3). To illustrate the prevalence of poverty among women in Canada, Morris provides a variety of reflexive Canadian statistics. Not only are women disadvantage in general, they are more likely to be in poverty if they are single mothers, seniors, persons with disabilities, immigrants or migrant women. For example, "51.6% of lone parent families headed by women are poor" (Morris, 2014, para.4). Similarly, approximately 40% of single senior women are also living in poverty.