A copy of the 700-page Drummond Report, which recommends, among other things, deep reductions in administrative costs.
Men were hit hard by the 2008-9 economic downturn, with losses of construction jobs (98 per cent male), transport jobs (90 per cent male), and manufacturing jobs (70 per cent male). Male unemployment rose so quickly that people began to talk about a "he-cession."
Three years on, a tenuous "he-covery" seems to be under way – male unemployment rates fell last year, and the percentage of men with jobs rose.
Now it's the ladies' turn. Ontario's Drummond Report calls for deep cuts to financial, administrative and secretarial jobs throughout the public service. Strictly speaking, the report recommends cutting costs; automating, streamlining and consolidating the delivery of services. Yet administrative costs equal administrative jobs – jobs that are, 8 times out of 10, held by women.
The bulk of Ontario government spending goes to MUSH – Municipalities, Universities, Schools and Hospitals. Overall spending cannot be reduced substantially without making cuts in these areas. There are about 280,000 teachers and professors in Ontario, and 65 per cent of them are female. The Drummond report recommends larger class sizes for elementary and secondary school teachers, and "flexible" teaching loads for university professors. Yet more students per teacher mean fewer teaching jobs. Just as a downturn in the construction sector leads to male unemployment, a downturn in the teaching sector leads to female unemployment.
The recommended changes to health care delivery will also affect many Ontarians. The Drummond Report recommends "Where feasible, services should be shifted to lower – cost caregivers." The lowest-cost caregivers of all are wives and husbands, mothers and daughters, sons and fathers, friends and neighbours. The Drummond Report recommends that Ontario "increase the use of home-based care where appropriate to reduce costs without compromising excellent care."
Who is this excellent care going to be provided by? Over half of Canadians are single, divorced or widowed – there might not be someone waiting at home to provide care. Even if there is – what are the costs to caregivers?
In the aftermath of the he-cession, Ontario families are relying on women's incomes to pay the mortgage. The wife is the main breadwinner, earning more than her husband, in almost a third of Ontario households. Even in families where Dad is the main breadwinner, Mom's job is often the one providing a steady income, along with dental or health benefits.
The he-cession has been tough. The upcoming she-cession will be another rough ride for the tens of thousands of workers whose jobs will be eliminated, and the hundreds of thousands of people who rely upon those incomes.
The figures in this article are the most recent numbers available in CANSIM t ables 282-0002, 282-0010 and 051-0010.
Frances Woolley