TORONTO – Most women are getting shut out of Employment Insurance (EI) coverage in Canada, says a study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).
The gap between men's and women’s EI coverage is significant: 40 percent of unemployed men received EI benefits in 2004 while only 32 percent of unemployed women did.
“Essentially, two in every three working women who pay into EI don’t receive a single penny in benefits if they lose their jobs,” says CCPA Research Associate Monica Townson, who co-authored Women and The Employment Insurance Program with Kevin Hayes.