From the housing crisis to restricted access to public transit and street harassment, women are disproportionately affected by a variety of societal issues. To tackle these persistent inequalities, a coalition of organizations is proposing feminist solutions, which Montreal could draw inspiration from. Overview.
The Table of Women’s Groups of Montreal (TGFM), which has some 80 member groups, will launch a campaign on Thursday entitled #MontrealFeminists for the right to the city. A launch event will take place for the occasion at Resto Plateau, a social integration company. It will present the demands adopted around four themes by the coalition of organizations following a public consultation carried out in recent years. These revolve around housing, mobility, economic life and neighborhood life.
Because, yes, in 2023, the inequalities that women face on a daily basis are numerous and widely documented. They are particularly affected more by the housing crisis, since the average income of Montreal women was still equivalent, in 2021, to 78% of that of men, according to the latest Statistics Canada census.
Single-parent mothers in particular struggle to find affordable housing of sufficient size, with apartments with several bedrooms displaying a lower vacancy rate than that of studios in the metropolis for several years.
During this time, more than 23,000 households are on waiting lists to obtain social housing managed by the Office municipal d’habitation de Montréal, while housing resources for women experiencing homelessness in the metropolis refuse entry to thousands of people each year because they are at capacity. And that’s not all.
“We see a lot of women who have been vulnerable by having suffered harassment from landlords or their neighbors,” notes Sally Richmond, the general director of Logifem, which provides accommodation to women and children in difficulty in Montreal. A situation which means that women sometimes do not feel “comfortable” staying in certain housing, which further reduces their options for safe accommodation in an apartment that meets their needs.
In this context, “we often see single-parent families living in three-and-a-half or families who live in infested or unsanitary housing,” points out M.me Richmond. “And it’s very problematic because housing is fundamental for health, the ability to work and mental health,” she continues.
In order to facilitate access to housing for women, the TGFM is calling for an acceleration of the construction of social and affordable housing in the metropolis and a better distribution on the island of Montreal of resources supporting women in need.
“It is certain that, for us, it is a priority because we know that social housing, housing that is accessible, allows women to escape from vulnerability,” declared the associate advisor in this regard. for the status of women on the executive committee, Despina Sourias. More generally, the City is banking on greater representation of women in key positions of power and as civil servants to encourage decision-making that takes greater account of gender inequalities, adds the elected official.
Mme Richmond, for his part, believes that the authorities should find ways to limit cases of discrimination in access to housing which continue to occur, even if they are prohibited by the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. “In theory, we are not supposed to be able to discriminate against single mothers in access to housing, but it still happens,” laments the general director of Logifem.
Two-speed travel
Montrealers also represent 54% of all public transport users in the metropolis, according to the results of the origin-destination survey conducted in 2018. Fewer of them use a car to get around. However, the phenomenon of gentrification, by inflating the price of rents, prevents more and more women from living in the central districts of Montreal, where the metropolis’s public transport offering is concentrated, notes the TGFM . Many women therefore find themselves having to move to areas on the outskirts of the heart of the metropolis, where local services are fewer and the public transport offering is greatly limited.
“They will have to motorize or travel longer distances by public transport, which contributes to their exhaustion,” underlines TGFM project manager Marie-Ève Desroches. Women will then be inclined to change jobs to reduce the length of their travel, or even to reduce their social life to compensate for the time lost on long bus journeys, she explains. “We will often see that women will be less involved in their community because transportation will have taken up too much time on the daily agenda,” she laments.
The consultation carried out by the TGFM also allowed it to note that many women with disabilities are victims of harassment during their journeys by adapted transport, either from drivers or other users of this mode. transport. A situation which then continues at work, with the Sexual Harassment at Work Support and Information Group of the province of Quebec responding to more than 9,000 calls per year, mostly from women.
Marie-Ève Desroches also notes that harassment at work particularly affects women who are in traditionally male fields, particularly in the construction or IT sectors, which are generally well paid. “They will experience harassment which means that they will often not access these good jobs which can be a social elevator to improve their living conditions, or will not be able to keep them,” she laments. Result: “there is a huge exodus of women in construction and other traditionally male sectors,” adds the project manager at TGFM.
She also criticizes the fact that it is mainly male-dominated workplaces that have been prioritized in recent years as part of the efforts of cities and the Quebec government in terms of economic recovery. However, “we must also ensure that we have sufficient investments in predominantly female fields to improve working conditions,” insists M.me Desroches, with particular reference to the education and health sectors, which remain “little valued” areas in Quebec.