BARRIE

Barrie ranked third worst Canadian city to be a woman

Adam Ward CTV Barrie
Published Tuesday, October 17, 2017 11:04AM EDT Last Updated Tuesday, October 17, 2017 2:37PM EDT

Loonies in Vancouver, on Sept. 22, 2011. (THE CANADIAN PRESS / Jonathan Hayward)

Text:

A new study suggests Barrie is one of the worst places to live if you’re a woman.

The study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives looks at differences between men's and women's access to economic and personal security, education, health and positions of leadership in Canada's 25 biggest cities.

Barrie placed third last on the list. The study found that women take home $16,000 less per year than men. It cited the fact that more men are getting hired for full-time work.

The CCPA says Victoria is the only city on the list where more women than men are employed, and they account for nearly half of all senior managers and elected officials.

In Windsor, which ranked worst in the study, the wage gap is actually smaller than average, with women making about 75 per cent of what men earn.

Back in Barrie, the report found that women are more likely to complete high school, college or university. Barrie women are 26 per cent more likely to have a college diploma, while men are twice as likely to have trained for a trade.

Barrie is at the bottom of the list when it comes to women being promoted to leadership roles. The study found that women make up only 29 per cent of managers in the city. However, they do better in politics, making up 30 per cent of elected officials.

The CCPA also says that sexual assault is the only violent crime that's not on the decline in Canada, and every city still struggles with high rates of sexual and domestic violence.

"Statistics will never be a substitute for the full experience of lives lived. But as signposts they mark the spot where more attention is needed from our political leaders and policy-makers," says study author Kate McInturff, a senior researcher at CCPA. "We hope they follow through."

With files from The Canadian Press.

--------

Here is the CCPA's ranking of the cities it studied:

1. Victoria

2. Gatineau

3. Hamilton

4. Kingston

5. Vancouver

6. Quebec City

7. St. John's

8. Sherbrooke

9. Halifax