COVID-19 pandemic has pushed women’s participation in the labour force down to its lowest level in three decades and rebounding won’t be easy, says a new study from the Royal Bank of Canada.The report Thursday shows 1.5 million Canadian women lost their jobs in the first two months of the pandemic and says women accounted for about 45 per cent of the decline in hours worked over the downturn, but will only make up 35 per cent of the recovery.
Canada’s unemployment rate reaches record 13.7% RBC deputy chief economist Dawn Desjardins said women are being hardest hit because they tend to work in industries — hospitality and food services, retail trade, educational services, health care and social assistance — most affected by closures,.