2021 has ended with a blast for Toronto when the city was named the Best City in the World for Women in Career by the leading US-based business magazine Bloomberg.
While Toronto is well-known for being one of the most diverse cities in the world, with great opportunities, this accolade can add another feather to the city’s cap.
Bloomberg analyzed 15 cities across the globe to find out how they fared when it came to the quality of life for women who pursued careers.
The business publication assessed the cities on five main elements namely: safety; mobility, maternity, equality and wealth.
“Toronto’s narrow lead reflected its high mark for equality and good ratings on maternity and wealth, but a poor mobility score—a result of traffic problems and an aging subway network,” stated the Bloomberg article.
The report further stated that, “while Toronto is a ‘culturally diverse, dynamic, and exciting city,’ there’s more to do to achieve gender equality, says Lara Zink, president and chief executive
officer of Women in Capital Markets, an advocacy group for female professionals in the country’s finance industry.”
Immigrant initiatives such as the Racialized Newcomer Women Pilot programme, launched in 2018 by the Canadian Federal government, played a significant role in the progress of gender equality in the work place nationally. In August 2021, a further $2.1 million in extra funding for 11 programs was announced by the IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) for the probation of women newcomers.
“Canada can only reach its full potential if everyone in it reaches theirs. A central part of this is addressing and overcoming the unique barriers that can sometimes stand in their way. These barriers can be particularly significant for racialized newcomer women, and have increased since the onset of the pandemic and its disproportionate impact on women.,” said the former Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino in a statement in August 2021.
“These important projects will help racialized newcomer women lay the cornerstone of success: finding a good, well-paying job.
“This is both the right thing to do for our society and the smart thing to do for our economy. By breaking down barriers faced by racialized newcomer women, we’re helping them make even greater contributions to their communities and country,” he added.