While more than half (57 per cent) of Canadian women agree that International Women’s Day initiatives can have a meaningful impact in the workplace, 64 per cent believe employers treat the day as a celebration rather than an opportunity to assess how they support women, according to a new survey by Benchmark Benefits Solutions Inc.
The survey, which polled more than 700 women employees, found three-quarters (75 per cent) said companies should be open about how they’re actually supporting women employees.
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Two-fifths (40 per cent) of women with an employer-sponsored benefits plan said they’re not satisfied with their current benefits package, while nearly half (47 per cent) said they’ve delayed or avoided health care because they didn’t have access to adequate benefits and roughly one in 10 said they’ve left a job due to inadequate workplace benefits.
Comprehensive mental-health services (91 per cent) was the No. 1 health benefit cited by women, followed by coverage for women’s preventative health (87 per cent), caregiving support for elder or dependant care (87 per cent), flexible or reduced work schedules (82 per cent) menopause assessment, treatment and hormone therapy coverage (79 per cent) and parental leave top-up (78 per cent).
“International Women’s Day should be a checkpoint, not a checkbox,” said Gisela Carere, president of Benchmark Benefits, in a press release. “Benefits are one of the most concrete ways employers can demonstrate support. When coverage, leave policies and flexibility don’t reflect women’s real life stages, the gap between intention and impact becomes obvious.”
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