The unemployment-to-job vacancy ratio is at a historic low across Canada, partly because baby boomers who are close to retirement age have left the workforce and not enough younger people are coming in behind them.
Dr. Nada Basir, a professor at the Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business, says there is an aspect to this conundrum that is rarely talked about: providing opportunities for women, particularly immigrant and racialized women, to get jobs or create new businesses amid this changing economy.
Basir is one of a group of interdisciplinary researchers at Waterloo focusing on women, work and the economy. The researchers, including political science professor Bessma Momani and economics professor Ana Ferrer, are involved in various projects related to how to integrate immigrant and racialized women into the rapidly changing world of work.
Basir says the key is ensuring that women get training in digital skills wherever possible, and to help them start their own businesses if they are entrepreneurially minded.
Go to Women in the digital workforce for the full story.