Friend  –

As people across British Columbia get ready to celebrate International Women’s Day on Sunday, the B.C. Federation of Labour has released a Report showing that the Gordon Campbell government’s policies towards women are moving our province backwards.

For eight years, Gordon Campbell and his government have trapped many women in poverty by failing to come through on raising minimum wage, creating childcare spaces, implementing fair taxation, and by cutting funding for education. Gordon Campbell’s government has made women poorer.

• Women earn an average of 62.8 percent of men’s income.
• 61 percent of minimum-wage earners are women (and the minimum wage has been frozen for eight years).
• The recent Provincial Budget contained billions in infrastructure spending, yet only 9 percent of construction workers are women.
• The 2009 Budget includes a freeze on public sector wages, a predominantly female workforce.
• Tuition fees in BC have doubled in the last eight years; because of the gender wage gap, women take much longer to pay off student loans.
• Women make up 52 percent of the population, yet only 17 of 79 members of the BC Legislature are women (and only 5 of 23 Cabinet Ministers are women).

A full summary of the Report is available at bcfed.ca.

Election day is only 67 days away. We need your help to bring change to B.C. – the change that women across our province need. If you haven’t had a chance to participate on our survey, please click here to help us plan our campaign for change.

Happy International Women’s Day.

In solidarity,

ANGELA SCHIRA
Secretary-Treasurer

FAST FACT:  Homelessness has increased 364% over the last eight years under the BC Liberal Government.