March 8 is International Women’s Day, and the theme for 2022 is #BreakTheBias – a theme which we as nurses in Canada have experienced firsthand. Bias is a preconceived or unreasoned feeling or opinion, and women face it all over the world, in many areas.
For us in Canada, we can see bias when it comes to collective bargaining.
For example, in Ontario in 2019, the Ford government passed the wage suppression Bill 124, a bill that limits wage increases to a maximum 1% total compensation for three years. This bill affects nurses and other health care professionals but provided an exemption for police and firefighters.
As nurses’ organizations and unions in Ontario have noted, ours is a workforce that is majority female. Click here for a recent news article on this subject.
We, along with unions across the country, are working hard to challenge and change this bias, as the COVID-19 pandemic has shown how important nurses are.
For more info on International Women’s Day visit their website.