Victoria the best place in Canada to be a woman
Report says city is one of few in the country with more women on its council than men and the only in the study with a female mayor
By Emma Crawford Hampel
A study released by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has found that for women, Victoria is the place to be.
One of the reasons for the city taking top spot among 25 cities across the country is the number of women in political leadership. Victoria is one of the only cities in the study with a female mayor. As well, it is one of the few cities with more women on council than men.
The city also scored well in terms of economic security, coming in fifth in the country for this category. The gap between men’s and women’s levels of employment is the lowest in the country, but this is partly due to a lower-than-average employment rate among men.
The CCPA found the wage gap is higher than average in Victoria, however, with women earning 73 per cent of what men earn overall, compared with around 77 per cent nationwide. The gap widens for full-time workers; women working full-time make 71 per cent of what their male counterparts earn.
Victoria women are slightly more likely to have finished high school or university than are men in that city. The study found 26 per cent of women have university degrees, compared with 25 per cent of men. On the other hand, men are much more likely than women to have completed trades training or apprenticeships.
