The Pandemic Did Not Cause the Downfall of Women — our government has seen to that since 2018.

Women matter. The jobs we do are just as important as those done by our male coworkers, our value to the workforce is equal, yet in nearly all industries, we are paid less than our male counterparts, sidelined for having children, and told we are hysterical, angry and irrational when we object to the roll back of legislation designed to protect this equality.

But we are equal, more importantly so are our voices. Our votes count. So remember that when we head to the polls in 2022. We matter. Your mother, your sister, your daughter, your aunt, your niece, they all matter.

When you vote, remember how we got here, remember who pushes us forward, and those who smile at us while shoving us backwards.

Remember the Pay Transparency Act? The Act that was designed to help close the wage gap between women and people of colour. The Act that would have required employers to provide salary ranges up front rather than deciding peoples worth based on their own bias. The Act that would have helped remove the inequities we know exist, yet are allowed to proceed unchecked. The Act that despite passing Royal Assent in 2018, was quietly sent back for “further review” by our current government.

When you vote, remember the government that:

• Halted legislation for Equal Pay for Equal Work meant to ensure workers are paid for work not based on their gender/colour/vulnerability
• Blocked the $15 minimum wage, meant to ensure wages paid are a living wage.
• Stopped paid sick days, risking the healthy and safely of the most vulnerable workers
• Rolled back health and safety measures designed to protect young and new workers
• Removed funding to midwives
• Dismantled our public education — publicly attacking teachers, unions and more
• Raised class sizes as we begged for smaller ones
• Cut the office meant to protect children in foster care (Child Protection Office)
• Refused to act to protect Long Term Care Residents and staff despite reports, requests and proposals from medical professionals — they deemed it “too expensive”
• Attacked us

Why do I know this? This is what I did. For five years, I was fortunate enough to build programs and help people return to work after horrific workplace injuries, cancer, car accidents. I got to see protection legislation being built, and watched in horror as it was all dismantled in a matter of months after an election. I watched as the destruction of these essential policies were celebrated by the very professionals and officials whose job it is to protect us.

I never made equality a political issue, I never made the health and safety of employees, or the decision to choose between paying rent or buying food one. Mr Ford did, by quietly and smoothly removing the safeguards in place to protect us.

I can be loud, I can provide support, mentorship, assistance. I do it every day. I run a group with over 7000 members and we are growing every single day. We are your executives, your leaders, your nurses, your teachers. But I can’t do this alone. We all have a voice, a vote, and we need to use it for what matters. We matter.

June 2022 is set to be the next election — the mothers of the pandemic have held this province together and we matter!

See you at the polls.

Allison Venditti, Founder — Moms at Work

And the 7.4 million women in Ontario, our children, our partners, our coworkers and our friends.

Allison Venditti is an HR Expert, Career Coach & now advocate. She represents a group of over 7000 working mothers and growing every single day. She is the mother to 3 boys — 9, 7, 3 and is pissed that while keeping her business afloat, caring for kids and trying to change the way we handle maternity leave (check out our signature program Ready to Return ) she had to a government determined to dismantle any progress we have made in the last 20 years.

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