New pilot program to help visible minority newcomer women
Credit to Author: Canadian Immigrant| Date: Wed, 05 Dec 2018 18:32:46 +0000
IRCC to support racialized newcomer women overcome barriers to employment
Visible minority newcomer women have the lowest median annual income of all newcomer groups at $26,624. They are also more likely to be unemployed, according to data from the 2016 Census.
Visible minority newcomer women can face many barriers to employment, prompting the launch of a three-year Visible Minority Newcomer Women Pilot program by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
“Employment is key to the successful integration of newcomers. Having a job isn’t just about making an economic contribution to Canada, it’s also about providing a sense of dignity and belonging. Newcomers — especially visible minority women — often face multiple barriers to employment,” says Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Ahmed Hussen. “I’m proud that my department has developed this exciting pilot that will offer direct support and services to these newcomer women as they get ready for the Canadian workforce, look for jobs and develop their careers.”
The goal of the pilot is to improve the employment and career advancement of visible minority newcomer women in Canada by addressing the barriers they may face — gender- and race-based discrimination, precarious or low-income employment, lack of affordable childcare and weak social supports.
“When Canada’s women succeed, Canada succeeds. This investment will support racialized newcomer women to participate in our economy and grow our middle class. We are counting on these women to share their talents and help fill critical labour shortages from coast to coast to coast,” says Minister of Status of Women Maryam Monsef.
Call for expressions of interest
As part of the pilot, IRCC has launched an expression of interest process for new service providers that are not currently funded by the department. IRCC will provide funding of up to $7 million for new, innovative programs and services to support visible minority women in accessing the labour market and to build capacity in smaller organizations that serve or are led by visible minority women.
IRCC will also amend existing contribution agreements of select service provider organizations across Canada with funding of up to $5 million.