Statement made on 21 October 2009 by Senator Jerahmiel Grafstein (retired)
Hon. Jerahmiel S. Grafstein:
Honourable senators, I have a question for the Leader of the Government in the Senate. I wish to return to the same topic I have been raising here for several days and that is the jobless recovery. Today I feel it is appropriate that we focus on the jobless recovery, especially as it affects women.
It seems in recent statistics that joblessness has affected women more than men. We all believe in equality and therefore it appears to be unequal in terms of even the few jobs that are being created.
It seems that single working mothers, female students, older single working women, and women below the poverty line are all feeling a larger detrimental effect from the jobless recovery. Could the Leader of the Government provide us with statistics to affirm this information?
Much of this information comes from newspapers, and I would appreciate it if the government could give us precise numbers in all those categories.
Assuming I am correct, does the government have an additional plan B to deal with this situation?
Also, if the leader provides us with the statistics, would it not be useful for us to convene, if she would agree, a Committee of the Whole so that all honourable senators on both sides could contribute to this debate to help working women and women in the workforce who are not able to get jobs?
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