By popular request, CERIC, in collaboration with partnering associations and expert presenters, is now able to offer recordings of past webinars on-demand, extending access to this valuable learning. Available right now, you can purchase all paid webinar series from 2020, including those on Autism, Remote Services, Mental Health, Older Workers and Self-Care.
The cost is $119 per person with a discount of 25% on group registrations of 5 or more. Recordings will be accessible until February 2022.
CERIC partners with associations and organizations across Canada and beyond to present webinars that offer timely, convenient and affordable professional development.
Often career practitioners, like many Canadians, have limited understanding of finances, how credit works, and of the potential impact on their financial well-being. With an ongoing shift towards self-employment, it becomes more important, especially in light of the pandemic, for career practitioners to educate themselves around financial literacy. This webinar series will help career practitioners who are self-employed themselves – or who support clients who are part of the growing gig economy.
Webinar #1: How to Set up and Organize Your Finances for Success, Thursday, May 20, 2021 | 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm ET
Webinar #2: BUDGETING – How to Build a Personal Budget, Thursday, May 27, 2021 | 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm ET
Webinar #3: Type of Savings and How to Pay off Debts, Thursday, June 3, 2021 | 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm ET
The cost for the full series is $159. A discount is available for VRA members.
George has been steadfastly committed to one overarching goal: To educate and empower Canadians, so they may regain control of their finances and start living the life they want. Whether she is counselling individuals, couples, families, solopreneurs, entrepreneurs or groups, George has successfully helped thousands of people pay off debt, build budgets and save for the future.
If you are a full-time graduate student whose academic focus is career development or a faculty member working with full-time grad students in career counselling or a related field, then you want to know about the CERIC Graduate Student Engagement Program (GSEP). Applications for 2021 are due by Wednesday, March 31.
CERIC encourages engagement of Canada’s full-time graduate students (Master or PhD level) whose academic research is in career development or a related field. Research areas such as Education, Sociology, Social Work, Counselling Psychology, Industrial/Organizational Psychology and Business with a focus on Human Resources or Organizational Behaviour are strongly encouraged to apply.
Through this program, graduate students will be introduced to CERIC and invited to:
Interested in getting involved? Complete and submit this quick GSEP application form. If you are also interested in competing for the GSEP Award, please submit a one-page article on a career development-related topic of your choice to gsep@ceric.ca by the same March 31 deadline. To support you in sharing this opportunity with students and colleagues, GSEP information can be found at ceric.ca/grad_program and this printable GSEP handout.
More than 2,000 career development professionals from across Canada and around the world came together for the first-ever virtual Cannexus conference to convene, share and learn over four days in late January and early February. With a theme of “Career Development for Public Good,” the conference explored how to re-imagine career services as a gateway to social and economic justice in the wake of the global pandemic.
Executive Advisor Zabeen Hirji made the case for a human-centred approach to the future of work;
Professor Kris Magnusson explained the powerful role of emotions in helping clients navigate career processes;
Olympian Perdita Felicien told her powerful story of growth from failure and not letting one moment in life define you; and
The Hon. Ethel Blondin-Andrew talked about the opportunities for Indigenous peoples in the conservation economy.
The conference featured several timely streams, including Pandemic Recovery, Around the World and Workforce Development. With the virtual conference, many renowned international presenters were able to participate such as Jim Bright, Tristram Hooley and Nancy Arthur. Among the 150 different education sessions, there was strong interest in topics around:
Advocacy and rethinking how we organize and value work
Engaging with uncertainty and embracing the chaos of current times
Building resilience in youth to navigate their futures
Impact of COVID-19 on the labour market and reskilling
Blended delivery models for career services
Self-care for career professionals and emotional well-being
Other components of the conference focused on making connections and peer-to-peer networking with Cannexus21 offering exhibitor booths, “Hallway meetings,” a virtual cocktail party, a student meet-up and interactive chats.
CERIC showcased some of its recent and forthcoming projects at the conference including:
CERIC Recovery Pulse Surveys that found new partnerships and innovations emerging from the disruption of the past year
A Learning Lab discussing the implications of CERIC-funded research by SRDC into the role of career education on students’ education choices and post-secondary outcomes
Additionally, though the Etta St. John Wileman Award for Lifetime Achievement in Career Development was not given out this year, the conference brought attention to the work of this lifelong social justice activist through profiling past award recipients and asked delegates to consider who they might nominate. The nomination deadline is June 30, 2021.
In a post-conference survey, 92% of delegates rated the virtual conference as good to excellent with 94% indicating that over time, they would incorporate what they learned into their work. Delegates cited enjoying the convenience of attending Cannexus remotely, the high-calibre sessions and the value in being able to access all the session recordings. However, many noted missing in-person connections and the energy of gathering face-to-face.
Comments included:
I was blown away by the virtual experience that Cannexus21 provided! The speakers, the sessions, the passion, the knowledge, the expertise and the insight that was shared was outstanding! I’ve learned, I’ve reflected, and I’ve pondered all that I heard looking for moments when I can put into practice all the takeaways!”
– Rhonda Taylor, CEO, Career Trek, MB
“After 11 months of scrambling to serve our clients to the best of our abilities in an ever-changing, complex environment, Cannenxus21 was such a blessing. I have been feeling disconnected while working remotely…the chance to convene with like-minded professionals was like adding air to a deflating balloon. I feel validated and renewed. If there was one year to attend, this was it!”
– Kimberlie Ladell, Employment Counsellor, Fanshawe Career and Employment Services, ON
“Brilliant, engaging world-leading conference. Powerful keynotes, targeted and outstanding seminars that allowed me and my staff to engage in rich topical discussions even in lockdown. Thank you for offering this fantastic conference so the world could experience the advancements that Canada has made in career development for all its citizens.”
– Bernadette Gigliotti, CEO, Australian Centre for Career Education
The Call for Presenters and information about dates and format for Cannexus22 will be available in the coming months. In the meantime, all registered Cannexus21 delegates continue to be able to access the conference recordings for a full year.
The newest edition of the Canadian Journal of Career Development (CJCD) has just been published, with five articles that range from ethical risk management in co-op programs to work-life wellness during COVID to youth career engagement and more.
CJCD has also launched a new, modern and accessible website: cjcd-rcdc.ceric.ca. For readers, articles now have abstracts that are simple to scan or search, and responsive pages mean you can read CJCD on any device. For authors, submissions are now conveniently managed through the website and your articles will be more easily found and cited.
The Canadian Journal of Career Development is a partnership project between CERIC and Memorial University of Newfoundland with the support of The Counselling Foundation of Canada. It is Canada’s only peer-reviewed publication of multi-sectoral career-related academic research and best practices from this country and around the world.
CJCD is published twice a year. It is free to subscribe to the digital editions and all issues of the journal dating back to 2002 are available to access online.
Journal Associate Editor Diana Boyd will be hosting a panel of authors at the Cannexus21 virtual conference on Jan. 27: Publishing Your Work & Research in 2021. This panel will provide information to faculty, graduate students, and practitioners on how to go about publishing your research and work.
CERIC has awarded its project on Unlocking the Career Development Value within Experiential Learning to OneLife Tools, co-founded by Rich Feller and Mark Franklin. The project, which includes collaboration with career development leaders from both Canada and the U.S., will develop an easily accessible digital guide to optimize the interaction among experiential learning (EL), reflective practice and career development. Program developers, educators and career specialists will be able to use this resource – expected to be available this fall – across settings.
There has been a surge of interest in experiential learning – from co-ops and internships to campus incubators, volunteer opportunities and land-based learning – as a way to bridge the gap between the classroom and the world of work. The promise of the experiential learning model has been to immerse the learner in an experience and then encourage reflection about the experience to develop new skills, attitudes or ways of thinking. But it has not always been clear how programs are connecting experiences to career management skills.
CERIC’s interest in issuing the Request for Proposals (RFP) is to provide direction on what elements of reflective practice are key to career development success for the benefit of learners, schools, post-secondary institutions, employers and communities alike. The purpose of this national initiative is to:
gain a better understanding of the intersections between career development and experiential learning;
determine how and where gaps can be best filled;
develop an easily accessible resource that supports building reflective practice into an experiential learning program and facilitating (greater) awareness of using such practices to enhance EL for the career management of program participants; and
highlight the beneficial value of reflective practice inherent in career development, how this can enhance the intrinsic value of experiential learning – regardless of setting – and how this can be incorporated into current programs.
Development of the resource will entail identifying and describing the range of experiential learning programs offered in Canada, targeting secondary and post-secondary education as well as lifelong adult learning. Describing and categorizing the promising practices these programs take toward a documented range of career outcomes, and analyzing the reflective techniques used, will be a core component of the work. Impacts will also be assessed to determine what program elements best support career development.
Findings that emerge from the analysis will be used to create a new, practical digital resource. The resource will guide EL program developers to address distortions and improve the balance between reflective practice, experiential learning and career development. Language, different abilities and culturally appropriate communication methods will be taken into consideration in the creation of the tool. Ultimately, this project will assist learners to make meaning from their experiences and education as they explore their career options.
This digital-only issue of Careering, on the theme of Social Justice, highlights the importance of understanding the context in which people pursue education and work – or are prevented from doing so to their full potential. It also reminds us that career development can be a powerful tool to challenge inequities and to advance the public good.
The COVID-19 pandemic has shone a light on the longstanding inequities affecting individuals’ career development options and outcomes. While high-profile activism and a precarious employment landscape raised public consciousness of these challenges in 2020, these issues – and the work being done to challenge them – are certainly not new.
Careering magazine is Canada’s Magazine for Career Development Professionals and is the official publication of CERIC. It is published three times a year both in print and as an emagazine, including select content in French. Subscribe to receive your free copy. You can also access past issues for free online.
The Spring-Summer 2021 issue of Careering magazine will be on the theme of “Career Pivots.” New contributors are welcome, and can submit in English, French or both languages. Please review our Submission Guidelines and send a 1-2 paragraph proposal outlining your topic idea to Editor Lindsay Purchase, lindsay@ceric.ca, no later than January 29.
These questions for career professionals call for intentional action to address anti-Black racism
Tracey Lloyd
We are living through unsettling times. Almost a year into the pandemic and on the heels of disturbing incidents of racial strife and injustice, many of us find ourselves reflecting deeply on what this all means for our personal and professional lives. Both thenovel coronavirus and the Black Lives Matter movement have converged as daunting influences on our well–being and caused us to grapple with uncertainty.
Career development professionals have traditionally supported their clients in navigating periods of ambiguity and anxiety, whether it be a transition from school to work, job loss, career change or upskilling. Some work with those from underrepresented groups alreadydisplaced and disadvantaged in the labour market.The pandemic isdeepeningthe social and economic divide, causing career professionalsto feel challenged in their capacity to instill hope andbe of service to their clients.
Many organizations have responded to public pressure to address anti-Black racism. While institutions have a responsibility to develop inclusive policies and practices to enhance the lives of marginalized groups, career development professionals also have an important role in facilitating meaningful career and employment opportunities for their clients. Whatever position you hold in the field, I invite you to consider some questions that call for deeper awareness, intentional action and personal accountability. I will share some reflections on the root causes and systemic factors that limit career success for Black people, the impact of recent world events and social justice movements on career conversations, and the critical role of advocacy and employer engagement.
Understand thecontext
Hirschi (2012)describes four capabilities necessary for career success:
Identity resources: A person’s aspirations and sense of themselves in relation to work;
Human capital:Acquired knowledge and skills;
Social resources:Personal relationships and professional connections; and
Psychological resources:Levels of optimism, hope and resilience.
Anti-Black racism affects the development of these capacities for many of our clients. Numerous studies have documented the impact of racism and the disparity in educational, employment and health outcomes for diverse Black communities in Canada (Environics Institute, 2017, 2019; Maynard, 2018; Government of Canada, 2020).The Black experience continues to be affected by systems of oppression rooted in colonialism and white supremacy.
In applying Hirschi’s four career resources in my own work, I consider the Black experience in the educational system, which is shaped by low teacher expectations,academic streaming, disproportionately higher suspension, expulsion and drop-out rates. Lack of representation in the curriculum and the classroomaffect career identity.I am also mindful of the impact of the socio-political climate and media imagesof the Black community on a person’s perception of self, feelings of belonging, hope and overall psychological well–being. As Hooley (2020) asserts, “Our careers are not just an expression of our psychology or personal will; they are embedded in social structures.”
Career conversationswith your Black clients must be grounded in an appreciation of the history and context affecting their career outcomes. It also requires an understanding of positionality –in other words, one’s identity, social location and worldview. How does your own positionality and privilege influence your work as a career development professional? How does this understanding of history and the Black experience show up in your practice? How comfortable are you engaging clients in conversations about their fears of discrimination?
Challenge the system
McMahon, Arthur and Collins (2008) remind us of the historical relationship between career development practice and social justice reform. The authors call upon professionals to examine the social, economic and political contexts of their work. We are encouraged to balance our attention on the individual with a more critical assessment of the systems that determine access, status and career outcomes. Hooley (2020) advances that sometimes clients are helped by individual supports, other times by system change, but more often by both at the same time. How might your approach to career guidancebe endorsing standards of the dominant culture and what is the messageconveyed to your clients?
“How does your own positionality and privilege influence your work as a career development professional?”
In order to ensure representation and foster a sense of belonging for Black clients, consider the composition of your team, career events, and the images and language that are more prevalent in your promotional and learning materials. What names do you typically use on resume samples? What faces are reflected in program brochures and PowerPoint presentations?If clients are part of your service–delivery model, are Black student leaders or peer helpers engaged? Do you involve Black professionals, industry experts and alumni in career events? I encourage facilitators of these sessions to pose equity–related questions toguest speakers, because some of your Black clients may be uncomfortable raising their concerns.
Employer engagement is also a critical component of our work and allows us to address systemic bias in recruitment and retention. Career services need to rethink their approach to employer relations by asking questions such as: How do you assess an employer’s commitment to anti-oppressive practice? How do you respond to employers that discriminate? What resources can we develop to support clients in assessing a prospective employer’s commitment to anti-Black racism?
Career services should also collect race-based data and engage in regular evaluation to assessthe effectiveness of programming. Evaluation data will reveal who is participating, the quality of the experience and the outcomes for Black clients. Some important metrics to guide data collection are:
The rate at which Black clients are securing jobs and placements compared to other groups
The types of opportunities they are securing and their experience on placement
The quality of supervision
Refusal to collect and reflect critically on race-based data upholds systemic racism. Challenging the system means that we continually question the structures we work within, interact with and promote as career development professionals.
Cultivatestrengths
The career conversation is inherently relational and aimed at unearthing the strengths of the client. Belief in oneself is linked to success. In maintaining positive regard for the client, the career development professional helps to strengthen this belief and conveys what Amundson (2018) refers to as “mattering” to the client.
Challenging our own assumptions and again being mindful of our own positionality and unconscious bias will allow us to move toward more meaningful career development interventions at both the individual and systems level. As a result, the client’s career aspirations and sense of possibilities will naturally expand. A social justice orientation in our work drives us to facilitateprofessional connections, quality work experiences, valuable mentorship and enlist supervisors as champions to ensure that members of marginalized groups can be successful.This is particularly important for Black clients, who are often the minority in many work environments.
Continue the conversation
Career development is a social justice imperative. I close with Hooley’s (2020) five signposts: build critical consciousness, name oppression, question what is normal, encourage people to work together and work at a range of levels. For me, this continues to be a reflective exercise and learning journey in considering my work and leadership in the field.
Although what I have shared is also relevant to other marginalized groups, I elected to focus on the Black experience to ensure that it is not lost in the larger equity, diversity and inclusion conversation. Within current frameworks, Black clients and students remain at a disadvantage. My hope is that the questions posed throughout encourage a critical view of our practice and highlight our role as career professionals in elevating the career conversation and enhancing career outcomes for diverse Black communities.
Tracey Lloydis the Director of Career Services and Co-operative Education at Centennial College, located in Toronto. Prior to joining Centennial, Lloyd was the Director of Employment Programs at Tropicana Community Services. She also taught in the Career and Work Counselling program at George Brown College. Lloyd holds a PhD in Adult Education from OISE/ University of Toronto.
References
Amundson, N.E. (2018). Active Engagement: The being and doing of career counselling, anniversary edition.Richmond, B.C: Ergon Communications.
Hirschi, A. (2012). The Career Resources Model: An integrative framework for career counsellors. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, Vol. 40(4), 369-383. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2012.700506
Maynard, R. (2018). Policing Black Lives: State violence in Canada from slavery to present.Black Point, Nova Scotia: Fernwood Publishing.
McMahon, M., Arthur, N., & Collins, S. (2008). Social Justice and Career Development: Views and experiences of Australian career development practitioners. Australian Journal of Career Development,17(3), 15-25.
New Brunswick’s Future Ready Learning K-12 strategy aims to meet needs of all learners
Tricia Berry
There is a sense of urgency as we face the educational, societal and financial uncertainty resulting from a global pandemic. Additionally, a focus on issues of diversity, equity and inclusion have ignited important conversations. As a Learning Specialist for Universal Design for Career Education for the New Brunswick government, I believe it is more important than ever to continue implementing a universally designed career education strategy for K-12. This is a pathway to meeting the needs of all learners.
It has long been predicted that our young people would face a future unlike anything we have experienced. However, we were unprepared for labour market disruption to happen so rapidly, and because of COVID-19. Regardless, great change is upon us and will only continue to gain speed and momentum. If we do not focus on universally designing career education in K-12, many young people – especially our most marginalized – will struggle to access the associated educational, societal and financial benefits. Therefore, we must consider diversity, equity and inclusion in our design and delivery of career education.
Universal design for career education
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework based in cognitive neuroscience that allows educators to design learning experiences that work across a wide spectrum of learners. This is accomplished by simultaneously providing rich supports for learning and reducing barriers to the curriculum, while maintaining high achievement standards for all students. UDL allows educators to anticipate learner variability and provide every student with equal opportunities to learn (cast.org).
“If we do not focus on universally designing career education in K-12, many young people – especially our most marginalized – will struggle to access the associated educational, societal and financial benefits.”
Universal design for career education is designing career development experiences to meet the needs of all learners. Using the CAST UDL Guidelines tool, the New Brunswick Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (EECD)’s Future Ready Learning K-12 strategy was designed and is being delivered using multiple means of engagement, expression and representation. Using UDL allows us to address systemic barriers that result in inequitable access to career education. This is a means to social justice.
Developing an equitable career education strategy
Using UDL principles, Future Ready Learning K-12 was developed in consultation with all those it represents. The government prioritized the inclusion of diverse perspectives in identifying the best practices that prepare young people for success today and into the future. We conducted student and educator focus groups province-wide to ask what they felt was needed to prepare for the future. We also formed consultative partnerships with organizations representing students with disabilities, the LGBTQ2+ population, newcomers to New Brunswick and Indigenous students. This input informed our career education strategy, including the identification of our future-ready learning best practices. These practices are not subject-specific, allowing them to be universally and intentionally integrated across the curriculum.
All educators can be career influencers. (iStock)
Delivering career development across the curriculum K-12 creates equitable access to career education. Adriano Magnifico’s article “Making Career Development ‘Stick’ in K-12” (2020) does a remarkable job outlining the steps needed to sell, prioritize, plan and scale career development programming in K-12 schools. Inclusive and equitable career education requires the use of future-ready learning best practices starting in kindergarten and continuing throughout all grades and subjects.
Traditionally, career education has been the responsibility of a few and takes place only within designated classes, which limits access. We are working diligently at changing the narrative surrounding the idea of career development. We are helping educators to see career education as the development of students’ skills, strategies, supports and resilience needed to successfully transition and pursue their preferred futures. When framed in this way, all educators, regardless of grade or subject, become career influencers.
Examples of New Brunswick’s universal design for career education
New Brunswick has many new initiatives to help ensure career development is reaching all learners, from professional learning for educators to experiential learning at the middle school level. Here are a few examples of universal design for career education:
Train the trainer: Educators need career development training to be able to offer career education to all students (Councils of Ministers of Education, Canada). EECD has developed a series of professional learning modules for educators that include various instructional strategies and ideas for engaging, expressing and representing career learning. Educators develop a “toolkit” that provides the resources and ideas for offering universal career education.Further, educators are provided with an online course called Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Classrooms that will increase their proficiency in working with newcomers and English Language Learners.
The early years: In elementary schools, educators were given the opportunity to select from a list of curated, free classroom books for facilitating children’s exploration of occupations while also considering the social-emotional competencies needed to prepare for the future. Based on the chapter “Children’s Reasoning about Career Development: The Conceptions of Career Choice and Attainment Model” (K. Howard & S. Dinius) in CERIC’s 2019 publication, Career Theories and Models at Work: Ideas for Practice (ceric.ca/theories), educators were encouraged to incorporate UDL and storybooks to help students understand occupations and careers. Each educator applied the UDL principles to meet the needs of their learners. Multiple means of expression included reading aloud independently, with reading buddies or using audio recordings. Educators engaged students through independent work, small and whole group experiences, and with the use of assistive technology. Most importantly, the students had choice in how they would represent their knowledge. To support the use of UDL, the educators were provided with a UDL Checklist and a UDL Lesson Plan Template to ensure all learners were considered in the development of the career learning associated with the books/lessons.
Middle school experiential learning: The New Brunswick Investigate! Invent! Innovate! (I3) Careers pilot, developed with The Learning Partnership, was used across the middle school curriculum and entire classes were able to participate. In this model of experiential learning, students focus on solving a real-world challenge and then work backward to discover more about the careers and skills related to their areas of interest, rather than job titles. Using UDL principles, educators were able to provide multiple means of representation such as online research, informational interviews with community members and/or guest speakers. Further, students were engaged through co-operative learning, station learning, independent work or the use of technology. Finally, expression of learning included the use of digital portfolios and/or poster presentations.
Considering culture: Recognizing that we have students and families who may have difficulty accessing information due to language barriers, we have been working with local immigrant-serving agencies to have provincial Education Support Services materials translated into the 14 most common languages spoken in New Brunswick (including two Indigenous languages and American Sign Language). This includes a recent career development document titled “Hope for the Future: The Benefits of Planning for the Future,” using myBlueprint. MyBlueprint is an online career/life planning tool that is available to all educators, students and families in New Brunswick. It provides 24/7 assess to career development tools and can easily be used in a variety of languages.
Conclusion
As we take stock of our current situation and consider the challenges that have surfaced because of COVID-19, we are reminded that the time is now to systemically advance universal design for career education. As we work to bridge the career education gap, let us not forget the guiding principles of Universal Design for Learning. Every young person needs to be provided with equal opportunity for Future Ready Learning.
Tricia Berry, BA, BEd, MEd, is a Learning Specialist for Universal Design for Career Education with the New Brunswick Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. She comes to her position with 16 years of guidance-related teaching experience and training as an employment counsellor. Further, Berry works part time in the School of Education at St. Thomas University.
References
Arthur, N. (2019). Career Theories and Models at Work: Ideas for Practice. CERIC
Novak, K., & Thibodeau, T. (2016). UDL in the cloud: How to design and deliver online education using universal design for learning. Wakefield, MA: Cast Professional Publishing.
Paniagua, A. and D. Istance (2018), Teachers as Designers of Learning Environments: The Importance of Innovative Pedagogies, Educational Research and Innovation, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264085374-en
Stewart, J., & Martin, L. (2018). Bridging two worlds: Supporting newcomer and refugee youth: A guide to curriculum implementation and integration. Toronto: CERIC.
Thoma, C. A., Bartholomew, C. C., & Scott, L. A. (2009). Universal design for transition: A roadmap for planning and instruction. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.
Efforts to rebuild Canada’s economy that do not also address systemic racism will continue to leave people behind
Carmina Ravanera
The writer and feminist Audre Lorde said in 1982 that “There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not lead single-issue lives.” Today, this idea must be central to Canada’s COVID-19 recovery efforts as we look toward building our economy back better.
Women in Canada have been disproportionately affected by the economic fallout of COVID-19, particularly women who are Black, Indigenous or people of colour (BIPOC). One solution to mitigate this gender inequality is a national affordable child–care system, which experts agree will help boost women’s labour force participation. But the outsized impacts of COVID-19 on BIPOC communities underscore that any recovery policy, including a child–care program, must simultaneously address systemic racism.
The ‘she-cession’ and the need for affordable childcare
Many women have faced an increased burden of care work during the pandemic, leading some to cut their paid work hours or drop out of the workforce. On top of this, women have experienced disproportionate job loss because women-majority sectors, such as retail and hospitality, have been the mostaffected by COVID-19. As a result, women’s participation in the Canadian labour force reached its lowest level in over three decades this summer(RBC Economics, 2020).BIPOC, especially BIPOC women, are now facing higher rates of unemployment and financial insecurity than those who are white (Statistics Canada, 2020). Such circumstanceshave led many todeem this recession a “she-cession.”
Experts agree that we need an affordable, safe and high-quality child–care system to ensure an effective and equitableeconomic recovery (Bezanson et al, 2020; Yalnizyan, 2020). Currently, childcare is prohibitively expensive across most provinces and territories: the median cost of preschool-aged childcare per month is around $1,000 or morein cities such as Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver (Macdonald and Friendly, 2020). Child–care advocates have recommended that the government contribute at least 1% of the country’s GDP (about $17 billion) each year to create an early learning and child–care system with more affordability and higher capacity – an OECD benchmark that other countries have already surpassed (Friendly, 2015).
Some may balk at this 1% benchmark, but there are crucialsocial and economic benefits to increased investment in this social infrastructure, not least of which is that affordable and accessiblechildcare is proven to boost women’s participation in the labour force. Mothers stillshoulder the majority of care work in Canada: they spent an average of 68 hours per week on childcare prior to the pandemic; during the pandemic, this number rose to 95. Fathers’ child–care hours only increased from 33 to 46 (Johnston et al, 2020). Further, those who are Black and Indigenous are more likely than those who are white to have had to give up looking for paid work in order to carry out their increased unpaid work (Oxfam Canada,2020).
Steps career professionals can take to advocate for this issue:
Commit to learning more abouthow child–care responsibilities and systemic racism posesignificant and intersecting barriers for the careers of your employees, clients or others you work with, especially if they are women and / or BIPOC.
Keep apprised of the government’s plans for a Canada-wide child–care plan. Have conversations about why it’s important within your networks and in your workplace.
Partner with or support organizations working toward racial equity, affordable childcare and / or equitable recovery from the pandemic.
Advocate for policies on anti-racism and flexibility for caregivers within your workplace.
Affordable care would remove some of this care burden from women, especially BIPOC women, and facilitate their return to paid work. This translates to better economic outcomes acrosssociety: It is estimated that each additional percentage point of labour force participation for women aged 25-54 would add $1.85 billion to Canada’s GDP (Bezanson et al, 2020).
An increased investment in the care sector would also create much-needed jobs. One study from the United Kingdom showed that investing 1% of a country’s GDP in childcare would create almost three times more jobs than an equivalent investment in construction (De Henau and Himmelweit, 2020). Care jobs are“green” jobs – the care sector does not contribute heavily to carbon emissions or environmental damage, but to a healthy population witheducated children (Cohen and Macgregor, 2020).
More investment in childcarecould further ensure that care workers are better paid and protected, which would draw more people into the sector and result in higher–quality care. These workers, many of whom are women and / or BIPOC, make an average of between $25,000 and $37,000 a year, despite the essential services they provide (Child Care Now, 2018).
Affordable care would remove some of the care burden from women, especially BIPOC women, and facilitate their return to paid work. (iStock)
What does systemic racism have to do with affordable childcare?
Enduring systemic racism in Canada means that BIPOC needtargeted recovery policies.BIPOC make up a disproportionate number of COVID-19 cases: In Toronto, they comprise 83% of cases despite representing about half of the population (City of Toronto, 2020). Part of the reason for this, andfor why BIPOC are facingrelatively high unemployment rates and financial insecurity now, is because they aremore likely to hold low-income, unprotected jobs that lead tovulnerability, such as cleaningand personal support work. They also experience limited access to opportunities and services that many mistakenly believe are equally available to everyone, from healthcare to housing.
Early learning and childcareare no exceptions here. Indigenous children face numerous barriers to accessing quality early learning programs.There is a lack of funding and infrastructure for Indigenous childcare, particularly in remote communities, as well as a lack of cultural relevancy within these services (Preston, 2008). Black parents have reported that their children experience racial profiling and other discrimination in early learning and throughout their schooling (Maynard, 2017). Black and Indigenous students in the school system are disproportionately expelled or suspended compared to other students (James and Turner, 2017).
A national affordable child–care systemwill boost our economy and contribute to gender equality. But it will not be fully effective if BIPOC parents are not able to access this service because it does not meet the needs of those in underserved areas. It will not be fully effective if BIPOC children continue to experience discrimination within it. And it will not be fully effective if new jobs are created, but employment discrimination keeps BIPOC women at the bottom of the ranks of the sector. The implementation of anti-racist training and policies across the system, as well as ensuring targeted services and funding for BIPOC communities, are some ways to address these problems within a new national child–care program.
Policy solutions to the gender inequality that has arisen from the pandemic require commitment and action to ensure that all forms of discrimination, including racial discrimination, are tackled head-on. Without this lens, we risk implementing solutions that continue to leave people behind.
Carmina Ravanerais a Research Associate at the Institute for Gender and the Economy. She is also the co-author of A Feminist Economic Recovery Plan for Canada: Making the Economy Work for Everyone.
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There is a sense of urgency as we face the educational, societal and financial uncertainty resulting from a global pandemic. Additionally, a focus on issues of diversity, equity and inclusion have ignited important conversations. As a Learning Specialist for Universal Design for Career Education for the New Brunswick government, I believe it is more important than ever to continue implementing a universally designed career education strategy for K-12. This is a pathway to meeting the needs of all learners. 
