The Benefits of Continuing Education for Women

The pandemic has destabilized the workforce, with many Canadian women losing their jobs or choosing to stay home to care for their children. According to RBC Economics, “The pandemic has pushed women’s participation in the labour force down to its lowest level in three decades, with 1.5 million women losing their jobs in the first two months of the recession.”

Furthermore, the report indicates that more women had to stay home to look after their kids: “Employment among women with toddlers or school-aged children fell 7% between February and May compared to a decline of 4% among fathers of children the same age.” Statistics Canada reported that school closings had led women to take on more homeschooling responsibilities: “The majority of women (64%) reported that they mostly performed homeschooling or helping children with homework, while 19% of men reported being mostly responsible for this task.”

With so many Canadian women out of the workforce for nearly two years, it’s important for them to have an easy way back in their respective careers. Continuing education at many Canadian academic institutions offers a flexible, reasonable, and accessible alternative for women to gain new skills or update the ones they may have stopped using. These courses are available part-time, in-person and online. And women can do it in a fashion that fits around their current obligations to their jobs and families.

There are numerous benefits from continuing education, and we break them down to help shine a light on a welcome solution to help women advance in their career goals and to gain financial independence.

Grow their income

One of the significant factors leading many women to pursue continuing studies is to further their chances of increasing their income at their current job or possibly a new, better-paying job. Continuing education allows individuals to gain certifications that make them more appealing to employers—knowing how to do more tasks guarantees more responsibilities at work, which also comes with higher pay.

Opportunities to network

Women who have had to sit out of their careers for the better part of two years during the pandemic have missed many opportunities to meet new people in their field or network. Continuing education serves not only as a chance to learn new skills but also to network with classmates and professors or instructors who are in the same fields. Online courses can offer the same level of networking via classroom forums or study groups.

Gain new skills for better job opportunities

Women who pursue continuing education will stand out to potential employers by listing their freshly acquired skills or certifications on their CV. This can significantly impact how easily women can find new employment prospects.

At the same time, continuing education can serve women by giving them the opportunity to learn new skills to help them transition to a completely different field. Continuing education allows women to free themselves from the limitations of their current job. Often they feel trapped or obligated to stick to one career without ever feeling like they can take a risk and switch work fields. Continuing education gives women a chance to explore how their current skill set could function in a new career.

Increase chances of a promotion

Continuing education can help women earn a much-deserved promotion. Employers will want to reward women for the time and money they’ve spent working on themselves. Their new qualifications and skills will prepare them for a new role, possibly in a leadership role at their current place of employment.

Not only is it crucial for women to succeed in the workforce, but doing so is also economically necessary. Everyone gains when women can contribute their strengths and knowledge in their respective careers.

Key issues

It can be expensive to take continuing education courses; therefore, we should make it more accessible for women who wish to turn their careers around and better their lives. For society to help bolster women in the workplace and make continuing education more accessible, there needs to be support from employers. Having paid training sessions or offering to pay for continuing education courses can serve significantly towards helping women achieve their career goals.

While having these continuing education programs in Canada is excellent, and having support from some employers is beneficial, there are still accessibility issues for many women. Rural areas are often disregarded with poor internet service or long commutes to reach a university campus to attend in-person classes. Education should always be easily accessible and not behind an exorbitant paywall or geographical challenges.

There needs to be legislation allowing partners to take time off from work to care for their families while women take courses to help further their careers. Additionally, women lack the needed support to take on domestic responsibilities. There is also a need for more social infrastructure to allow women to balance work and family commitments. We also live in a society with grossly expensive daycare fees, thus making it difficult for women who are single parents to both afford their courses and care for their families. Continuing education schedules can be challenging for women to adhere to with so much going on outside work and school.

A ways to go

Continuing education serves many women by offering tremendous benefits to help them learn new valuable skills to further their careers. While this is incredible to help women become more financially independent, there are still barriers that limit who can actually enjoy these benefits. Education should be easily accessible to all who desire it, and with it will come a much healthier and happier society.

Written by: Kim Girard