As wave after wave of the pandemic pummels our world, working women have felt the sand rushing away from under their feet. Here, three women tell Chatelaine about the stresses of balancing paid work with domestic responsibilities.
Photo: Courtesy of Rowena Alivio
Rowena Alivio, 48, Vancouver
I started working as a dealer at the Parq Casino in downtown Vancouver in 2003. Before the pandemic, I worked from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. This shift let me bring my son to school. I?m a single mother, so I dropped him off in the morning, and someone would pick him up after. I?d be home before bedtime. It was okay until the pandemic.
On March 15, the casino closed. It was hard. I take a very expensive medication, and it was devastating when we lost our extended health benefits in July. Prime Minister Trudeau told us, ?You can relax, I?ve got your back. You aren?t going to be starving, you know you?re going to be okay.? But this is not okay. Moving from CERB to EI will likely mean less support. How am I going to survive" My son is nine years old and in grade 4 now. My daughter is 25. During the first six months of the pandemic, I became a very accommodating mother. I became a teacher; I became everything. My daughter and I created a space that helped my son grow. We did a lot of activities for him to continue his studies. I think he improved a lot. The pandemic gave me a moment with my children. In a country like the Philippines, there are very close family ties, but I was away from my d...