Women are the breadwinners in a growing percentage of Canadian families, according to a new report. But this is less likely to be true if that woman has children, and the proportion drops the more kids she has.More and more Canadian women are the breadwinners in their families — but there's a catch.
Seeing the numbers in black and white starkly demonstrates what's called the "motherhood penalty," said Allison Venditti, a human resources expert in Toronto and founder of"It's so deep and engrained, this belief that mothers belong in the home and should be caring for their children, and that's really reflected in how they're compensated at work," Venditti told CBC News.
And this doesn't make a lot of sense when you consider that women are earning more than their partners in about a third of husband-wife families, added Adshade.People commonly lose their job on maternity or parental leave. Critics say EI needs an overhaul "Now she's a breadwinner, and she's the principal caregiver for the family. That is a lot to ask of any woman."It's hard not to look at reports that highlight this disparity and feel like it's all really bleak given how hard women have fought, said Venditti of Moms at Work.