Helping women gain financial confidence.
Everything is getting more expensive – there’s no doubt about it. We all feel the pinch now and again, but for more than 1.5 million women living in poverty in Canada1, financial concerns impact every facet of their lives. As expenses continue to rise, we want to equip women with knowledge to help them take control of their financial journeys.
Women are more impacted by financial stress
Between education, work, child care and household expenses, there are lots of reasons to feel stressed about money. These stressors are multiplied for women, especially when compounded by additional barriers, including race, disability, citizenship and single parenthood. Women are more likely to live in low-income households than men, especially single mothers.2 In fact, 10% of women in Canada live on low incomes, and more than twice as many disabled women at 23%.3 These statistics are discouraging to say the least, but they aren’t the end of the story.
Partnering for change
Financial concepts can feel like an overwhelming tidal wave of information. It’s a lot to sift through, but there are important steps and tools that can make a real difference. We want to help women unlock this information and change their future, but we can’t do it alone. That’s why we’ve partnered with Credit Canada and the Canadian Women’s Foundation – two organizations with a focus on helping people get on the right track.
Credit Canada is the country’s first and longest-standing credit counselling agency. As a non-profit organization operating for more than 50 years, Credit Canada has helped thousands of people avoid bankruptcy, become debt-free and achieve financial wellness. We’re supporting Credit Canada’s mission through sponsorship of their GOLD program for women, a financial coaching and debt reduction course. This program has been successful in helping participants not only increase their confidence to manage their finances, but also reduce their debt by 19%, and improve their credit scores by 4%, on average after 3 months.
The Canadian Women’s Foundation is Canada’s public foundation for gender justice and equality. They support grassroots action by partnering with communities and organizations to improve social conditions, build diverse leadership, share knowledge and create sustainable change.
Capital One is proud to support 35 community programs through the Canadian Women’s Foundation. This funding helps meet urgent community needs and deliver multi-year programs to end gender-based violence, empower girls, build inclusive leadership and support economic stability.
At the end of the day, we want to see all Canadians feel confident with their finances. To date, Capital One Canada has invested $1.5 million in programs and grants that support the financial well-being and empowerment of Canadian women, and we can’t wait to reveal what we have planned for the future. Stay tuned to our blog and social channels for updates on how we’re helping Canadians be financially successful. In the meantime, check out these helpful articles on building a budget and paying down your debt.
1 The Canadian Women’s Foundation, The Facts: Gender Equality and Gender Justice
2 Fox and Moyser, Statistics Canada, 2018, The Economic Well-Being of Women in Canada
3 The Canadian Women’s Foundation, The Facts About Women and Poverty in Canada