:: parental benefits. issues ::

Issues

Maternity and parental benefits under the Employment Insurance Act are not equitable for women. In addition to an issue of inequality between men and women with regard to qualifying for the benefits, between groups of women there are further inequalities and certain groups of women are less likely than others to be eligible for the benefits.

So who are the women excluded from receiving maternity and parental benefits under the EI Act?

1 Women who do temporary, contract or seasonal work and women who work part- time are less likely to be eligible for maternity and parental benefits under the EI Act than women who work full-time and women who are self-employed, with the exception of self-employed fishers, are simply not eligible at all. This accounts for 41% of all Canadian women who work.

Among those who are employed, women were more likely than men to have a non-standard work arrangement in 1999: 41% versus 29%. [Statistics Canada (2000), pg. 103]

2 The most vulnerable and marginalised women are the least likely to be eligible for benefits under the Act. These women include:

teenaged new mothers

women with little education

low income women

single mothers

immigrant women

visible minority women

Aboriginal women

women with disabilities

In 1997, 56% of all families headed by lone-parent mothers had low incomes. [Statistics Canada (2000), pg. 139, 259]

3 Women in prime child bearing years are less likely than older women to be eligible for benefits under the Act.

Maternity and parental benefits under the EI Act do not reflect the realities of the role of mothers within Canadian families and, as a result, mothers are less likely than others to qualify for EI benefits and therefore for maternity and parental benefits.

Seventy-eight percent of first-time new mothers are eligible for benefits; 58 percent of new mothers with one other child are eligible; 43 percent of new mothers with two other children are eligible; only 11 percent of new mothers with three or more other children are eligible. [Phipps (2000), pg. 421]

5 Although statistics show that mothers are far more likely to take a leave from work to care for a new baby, and in general to take on the role of primary care giver to children, men are more likely than women to be eligible for parental leave.

6 Women in Atlantic Canada are less likely than women in other parts of Canada to be eligible for benefits under the Act.

In 1999, 15.5% of female labour force participants in NF were unemployed, while the figure was 13.9% in PEI, 9.4% in NB and 8.8% in NS. In contrast, less than 8% of female labour force participants in Ontario and each of the Western provinces were unemployed. [Statistics Canada (2000), pg. 109]

7 The low wage replacement (55% of average weekly income to a maximum of $413) means that it is difficult to take advantage of the full year for many women and families.