Women and children in Canada

Prime Minister Stephen Harper just spoke to the World Economic Forum in Davos and noted, toward the end of the speech, that the well-being of women and children was indeed a top priority for Canada this year.

By coincidence,  the World Economic Forum has been tracking how well Canada itself has been doing on this front, domestically speaking, through the annual Gender Gap report.  And as it turns out, Canada has been slipping in the rankings since 2006 -- when the forum started its annual reporting on the gender gap.  We've gone from 14th place in the world (among more than 100 nations) to #25 in 2009.  

The slippage is mainly in the areas of "political empowerment" as well as health, survival and literacy. You can view the 2006 report here and the 2009 report here.

Comments

[Antonia]

Yo. Susan. Great minds. Have some chocolate for me.
http://www.thestar.com/living/article/757286--harper-s-plan-helps-women-only-as-baby-makers

[Michele Landsberg]

Thank you, Susan! That's what I call real journalism, as opposed to the reportorial yap-pack that went wagging their tails after Harper when he declared that he was going to be the new saviour of women and children around the world. What a bitter joke that is.

[Jim M]

When this Prime Minister talks about making women and children a top priority in Canada, why does he remind me of the guy who dressed up as a woman to sneak on to a Titanic lifeboat? I could not find that scene on YouTube, but this little student-made documentary about Titanic lifeboats is fascinating to watch if you imagine Canada as the mothership, herself. Entitled, "The Lifeboats that Didn't Save," a mere homemade documentary that looks like an excellent training video for inexperienced Prime Ministers who think they can get away with damning the torpedoes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aToKhfEjA80