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Members of the B.C. NDP women’s caucus called on the provincial government today (March 14) to develop a plan for women's economic equity.

Issues discussed by some of the speakers in the legislative assembly included the wage gap between men and women and how it also affects racialized and indigenous women.

Maurine Karagianis, MLA for Esquimalt-Royal Roads in Victoria, said the legislature should work to raise the minimum wage because “women make up 59 percent of those on minimum wage”.

“It's a small step towards equity for women, in particular,” she said. “I think wages as a whole are recognized as being unfair and unequal.”

According to a recent report called Making Women Count, women working full-time in Canada earn 72 percent of what men earn, on average, for a full year.

“Extreme inequality is bad for everyone,” Karagianis said. “Eliminating the gender gap would be a powerful step towards creating a more fair and equitable society.”

Mable Elmore, MLA for Vancouver-Kensington, said the biggest contrast in the wage gap is between indigenous women and those who come from racialized backgrounds.

The same report—coauthored by Oxfam Canada and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and released on March 7—states that aboriginal women earn 10 percent less than aboriginal men and 26 percent less than nonaboriginal men. Racialized women earn 21 percent less than racialized men and 32 percent less than nonracialized men. Immigrant women earn 25 percent less than immigrant men and 28 percent less than nonimmigrant men.

“The story in British Columbia is that women are being left behind, and we see that women are bearing the burden of unpaid work,” Elmore said. “To add insult to injury, we see the wage gap growing larger. It's worse for marginalized women, including indigenous and racialized women.”

Elmore added that opportunities for women workers from indigenous and racialized communities are growing smaller due to funding cuts to English-language programs and adult-education programs.

“[It] really brings additional barriers to women from these communities seeking to upgrade their skills and really advance their efforts,” she said.

Elmore said the province needs to ensure that wage gaps are closed, that opportunities are afforded to indigenous and racialized women, that they are not continuing to be left behind by the government, and that employment standards are upheld to ensure that all women move forward.

“We need dramatic change,” she said.

The house voted to move the motion for consideration.

Follow Jocelyn Aspa on Twitter @jocelynaspa