We Can't Build Back Better Without Economic Justice for Racialized Women

Jul 28, 2020 | Carmina Ravanera and Anjum Sultana
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This summer has been one of racial reckoning. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions joined in Black Lives Matter protests around the world, protesting police brutality and systemic racism. While many imagine that Canada is removed from systemic racism, Canada’s economy was built on and still functions on the backs of those who are Black, Indigenous and people of colour (BIPOC). It’s these communities that have been disproportionately bearing the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic – especially BIPOC women.

As YWCA and the Institute for Gender and the Economy’s newly released Feminist Recovery Plan for Canada suggests, we cannot make meaningful progress on economic recovery from this pandemic without rooting out and addressing racism in all its forms. This means undertaking the calls to action for equity and economic justice that BIPOC communities have been advocating for, such as ensuring access to decent work, bolstering BIPOC-led businesses and changing workplace policies and culture.