On average, women still make only 70% of what men make even when employed full-time year-round. One in three mothers do not have access to federal maternity benefits. Poverty affects almost half of single, widowed or divorced women over 65, and more than 40% of unattached women under 65.

In a country as rich as Canada, these are not statistics we should feel proud of. That's why my colleagues and I have launched an action plan to create fairness for women.

Despite an increase in their participation in the paid workforce, women continue to have the primary responsibility in most families for child and elder care. Juggling such important responsibilities is leaving ordinary women overstretched. This kind of pressure cannot continue to build without having a negative impact on individual, family, and community health. Now just part of "normal" life, it is difficult to see how we can do things differently.

There are steps the federal government can take to make a difference. That is, if women are a priority. Here are some of the changes that my colleagues and I are proposing:

Right to Equal Pay: Current federal pay equity laws don't work since they are only activated if someone makes a complaint. The NDP plan includes the implementation of the Pay Equity Task Force and the introduction of proactive federal pay equity legislation.

Access to Employment Insurance: Today, only 33% of unemployed women collect Employment Insurance benefits, down from 70% in 1990. Changes to EI reduced access for part-time, seasonal and low-income workers. Women, who account for about 70% of all part-time employees, were disproportionately affected including reduced access to maternity/parental benefits.

The NDP plan includes an overhaul of the legislation governing employment and maternity benefits. In the 39th Parliament, the NDP introduced eight Private Members' Bills to improve access to this vital income support.

Increase Minimum Wage: Two-thirds of minimum wage workers over the age of 15 are women. Many minimum wage earning women are living well below the poverty line. The NDP has tabled a bill to re-instate the federal minimum wage at $10 an hour.

Universal Child Care: Women have the right -- and often a need -- to work outside the home. And children's early years are vitally important. Canada's patchwork child care system is ineffective. The NDP plan includes passing our Early Learning & Child Care Act and establishing a network of high-quality, licensed, non-profit childcare spaces. …

When women talk to me about their lives, they don't waste time complaining. They just do what they need to do for their loved ones and, in general, they accept what that looks like. It is time that the federal government showed women enough respect to do what it can to make life more equitable.