TORONTO—A new study has found that life is better for women who live in cities such as Victoria, Gatineau, Que., and Montreal compared to Edmonton, Calgary, and Ontario’s Waterloo Region.
Victoria sits atop a list of 25 Canadian cities that are ranked in a study done by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. The research says a strong gap remains between the sexes among five areas examined: economic security, education, health, leadership, and personal security.
The CCPA, which describes itself as a non-partisan research institute concerned with social, economic, and environmental justice issues, titled the study “The Best and Worst Places to be a Woman in Canada 2015: The Gender Gap in Canada’s 25 Biggest Cities.”
“This was a way to draw attention to the gender gap,” said study author Kate McInturff, who based her research on Statistics Canada survey data.
“There are solutions out there. We could really improve women’s lives across the country.”
McInturff said cities in Quebec fare better on average than cities in other provinces—which she attributes to policies that help women, such as affordable and accessible daycare that allows more women to re-enter the workforce after childbirth, thereby leading to a higher employment rate for women.
