Efforts to rebuild Canada’s economy that do not also address systemic racism will continue to leave people behind
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.