Ontario's Minister of the Status of Women is looking to develop a Women's Economic Empowerment Strategy.
Indira Naidoo-Harris kicked off a province wide tour in Windsor last night, gathering input from local women on what they'd like to see included in the initiative.
Naidoo-Harris says women make up 50% of the Canadian workforce but they still only earn an average of 76-cents to every dollar a man earns.
"We know that women are disproportionately affect by poverty, discrimination and violence", says Naidoo-Harris. "I'm here holding these consultations, these consultations will really inform our strategy because what we want to do is build a fair and inclusive and equal economy."
The minister says "I'm working hard to ensure that I'm finding out whether or not the challenges and barriers women face in Windsor, for example, are different from those in Thunder Bay, or they may be the same, but this is really getting that feedback so that we can work out ways to support women so they can be successful.
"In 2017, this shouldn't still be an issue," says Naidoo-Harris. "It is unacceptable that women aren't able to reach their full economic potential in this society right now, but the great news is that this is essentially a call to action. So, here in Ontario, we want to lead the way."
Naidoo-Harris has a number of stops planned in the coming months spanning from Windsor to Thunder Bay.