Employers can improve women’s financial security by recognizing gender differences and improving pension contribution and benefits structures, says Kadie Philp, commissioner and chief administrative officer at the Ontario Pay Equity Commission. To close the gender pension gap, employers need to recognize how different work-life patterns can be for men and women, in addition to making […]
When the return-to-office mandate arrived, 39-year-old Supreet Singh, a corporate communications manager at a bank, didn’t argue, escalate it to human resources or request an accommodation. After nearly seven years of balancing full-time work with caregiving for an ageing parent and two school-aged children, she resigned. The company had been clear there would be no […]
Debra Whitman was traveling for work when her father was suddenly admitted to the hospital in serious pain. She jetted home to Maryland and took several days off to care for him in his rural community in eastern Washington state and to set him up with a motorized lift chair that would help him stand […]
While Health Canada’s approval of the first drug to specifically treat postpartum depression represents a clinical milestone in women’s mental health, one benefits expert says its impact on employer-sponsored drug plans is likely to be limited. Zuranolone, sold under the brand name Zurzuvae, is a 14-day oral treatment designed to provide rapid symptom relief for […]
A recent New York Times feature highlighted the growing tension between workplace expectations and the unequal share of caregiving and domestic labour women continue to manage — a conversation that mirrors what Dr. Vera Kohut, family physician and medical director at Serefin Health, says she sees daily. “Work was built around the life pattern of […]
Cancer rates among Canadian women age 50 and younger are twice as high as those of men in the same age group, according to a new report by Sun Life Financial Inc. The report analyzed health claims data from more than three million plan members and 20,000 employers. It found cancer continued to drive a […]
Many women approaching and entering retirement are seeking clearer financial guidance and more supportive environments for financial decision-making, according to a new survey by HomeEquity Bank. It found confidence in financial decision-making tends to increase with age, yet many women continue to encounter barriers rooted in literacy, confidence and cultural expectations. While 63 per cent […]
Nearly six in 10 (59 per cent) Canadians fear they’ll outlive their retirement savings, according to a new survey by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. It found more than half (52 per cent) of non-retirees with a financial plan said it gives them confidence their money would last, making planning the top driver of […]
When tracing a woman’s career across her various life stages, the ebbs and flows will impact the support she needs from her employer and the way she embraces the workplace, from building a family to parental leave to balancing child rearing and later, experiencing perimenopause and menopause. As the middle-aged mother of two young children, […]
While the new approach to employment insurance benefits was initially hailed as progressive and flexible, its impact on women in the workplace isn’t yet clear. Nora Spinks, chief executive officer, Work-Life Harmony Enterprises In 2019, the federal government updated employment insurance parental benefits, including a new ‘use it or lose it’ option of five to […]