In Legislature comments, North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice speaks to Women in Leadership in recognition of International Women's Day

North Coast MLA spoke on the theme of 
International Women's Day today as part of the
morning session of the BC Legislature

As British Columbians paid tribute to women, that in recognition of International Women's Day, North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice spoke to the topic as part of today's proceedings of the BC Legislature, speaking to the challenges faced by women during the pandemic and some of the societal impacts that have come with COVID over the last year.

Today is International Women's Day, a day to recognize the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, girls, two-spirit and non-binary people. 

This day has been recognized around the world since 1911. It's also a day to raise awareness of the work we still need to do. 

This year the United Nations theme is "Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world." 

For those who already face systemic barriers or oppression, the pandemic has magnified the inequalities that still exist among genders. This is further amplified for Indigenous women, women of colour, women with disabilities and people in the 2SLGBTQ + community. 

At the onset of the pandemic, women lost their jobs at a rate six times more than their male counterparts. This is because women are more represented in the service sector — such as education, food and community services — and in health care, where they're more susceptible to being infected with COVID-19. 

The conditions for this type of work are just not favourable to working from home. Working mothers who remain in the workforce have lost an average of six hours per week because of their caregiving responsibilities. 

And sadly, reports of intimate partner and family violence are on the rise.

The North Coast MLA also made note as to how the celebrations for International Women's Day carry more significance for 2021, paying tribute to the every day superheroes amongst us  how took on the challenges presented in the wake of COVID, as well as to how there is still much to do to ensure a future for all in the province.

Celebrating International Women's Day has new meaning this year as we celebrate the thousands of people who became everyday superheroes overnight to help us through the pandemic. 

With vaccines on the horizon, we have a positive path forward. But no matter our gender, race, class, sexual orientation, disability or ability, our entire province is stronger when we help each other, celebrate our superheroes and find a way to ensure all people have an equal future during these difficult times. 

While we continue to focus on keeping people safe through the pandemic, we are doing this with an eye to how we position our province to seize the opportunities that recovery will offer. The path forward is not the same for all people or sectors of the economy. 

And recognizing this, our support and investment must be targeted now. 

At the start of the pandemic, with greater uncertainty about how the impacts would be felt, we invested with broad tools to quickly provide support to as many people as possible. This included financial supports for people whose ability to work was affected, help for people facing violence, supports for vulnerable people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness and funding to assist child care providers.

You can review her full comments from the Legislature archive here starting at just after the 10:50 AM minute mark, as well as from the video offered below from the MLA's office.

Ms. Rice was one of many politicians to speak to the theme of International Women's Day, with the day's tributes and observations led off by Premier Horgan and Grace Lore, Parliamentary Secretary for Gender Equity, who released a statement to set the tone for the day.

More note on the MLA's representation at the Legislature can be explored here.

A wider overview on today's themes from Legislature can be found later this evening from our political blog D'Arcy McGee.