Why does International Women’s Day matter to early childhood educators?
International Women’s Day is celebrated around the world to acknowledge the incredible achievements of women fighting for their social, economic and political equality. While IWD is a time to acknowledge the gains that have been made over the past century, it is also a day to recognize the ongoing struggle for gender and sex equality in our society.
Early childhood education (ECE) is a female dominated profession, approximately 96% of ECEs and those working alongside ECEs in various support positions are female.
The work performed by ECEs caring and educating for young children is often viewed as ‘women’s work’ and as a result, devalued in society. The devaluation of paid work perceived as ‘women’s work’ stems from the view that this work does not require specialized skills and can be done using the ‘natural’ abilities of women. As well, it is thought that because this work resembles the unpaid caring labour traditionally performed by women in the home, it is of less economic value.
These gendered assumptions contribute to the limited recognition and lower than average salaries of ECEs and child care workers. Despite higher than average levels of training and a great deal of evidence pointing to the importance of their work, ECEs continue to earn below the national average wage for all occupations.
This is especially problematic when we know that the work of ECEs is directly tied to supporting healthy child and family development and supporting other women (and parents) to achieving economic and social equality and success.
Low pay and few benefits undervalue the work of taking care of our youngest children, discourage both women and men from entering the field, and diminish the quality of early childhood education and child care programs.
It is time that the government invested public dollars into compensating ECEs fairly for the crucial work they do. The women and men who often help to support children and families out of poverty should not be earning poverty wages.
This campaign is calling on the government to fund professional pay for ALL ECEs in Ontario regardless of where they work.
Professional pay should reflect ECEs’ specialized training, the value of their work and their participation in continuous professional learning.
How will we achieve this goal?
- Develop campaign materials to build support and generate awareness on the key issues
- Collect the stories of ECEs to highlight the profession and the impact of low compensation on individuals and the programs that they work in
- Develop background materials that explore and explain the issue of professional pay and professional work for ECEs to inform campaign participants and the general public
- Engage with the ECE and broader early childhood education and care community on how we should best resolve this issue
- Continue to lobby the government to develop a comprehensive workforce strategy for ECEs and continue to advocate for increased government funding for programs and services where ECEs work that will support improved pay and working conditions for ECEs
