Facts about Women and Poverty in Canada

  • One in seven women1 (2.4 million2) in Canada lives in poverty.
  • When mothers are poor, so are their children: more than one million children live in poverty in Canada3 and poverty is strongly linked to poor scholastic achievement.4
  • Income level is a key determinant of health5 and women and children living in poverty are more susceptible to poor physical and mental health.6
  • Women living in poverty are more likely to experience violence and abuse.7
  1. FAFIA, A Decade of Going Backwards: Canada in the Post-Beijing Era (Ottawa, 2004) p. 4
  2. Womennet.ca, “Income and Poverty Gaps between Women and Men Persist Despite,” (2004) Available online at http://www.womennet.ca/news.php?show&1587
  3. Campaign 2000, One Million too Many: Implementing Solutions to Child Poverty in Canada 2004 Report Card on Child Poverty in Canada (Ottawa, 2004) p. 1.
  4. Canadian Institute of Child Health, The Health of Canada’s Children: A CICH Profile (Ottawa, 1989) p. 98
  5. National Forum on Health, Canada Health Action: Building on the Legacy (Ottawa: Minister of Public Works, 1997)
  6. See National Forum on Health, Canada Health Action: Building on the Legacy (Ottawa: Minister of Public Works and Government Services, 1997); Robert Chernomas, The Social and Economic Causes of Disease (Ottawa: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, 1999); Agnieszka Kosny, “The Social Determinants of Health - Equity Across the Lifespan” Synthesis paper prepared for the Made to Measure symposium. (Halifax: Maritime Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health, 1999)
  7. Recommended action resource: Jane Gurr and Louise Mailloux, Breaking the Links Between Poverty and Violence Against Women: A Resource Guide (Ottawa, Family Violence Prevention Division, Health Canada, 1996) Available in hard copy or at www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hppb/familyviolence/html/1breaking.htm