• More women are working than ever before: more than 1.021 million as of January 2006.

• The unemployment rate among women in 2005 was 5.9 percent – the lowest annual number on record.

• 84.4 percent of female job creation since December 2001 has been full-time.

• B.C. has the fastest growth in female small business ownership among all Canadian provinces (CIBC World Mkts "Women Entrepreneurs: Leading the Charge" June 2005).

• Women now make up 57 percent of students in B.C.’s universities. More women than ever are enrolled at the graduate level and in trade schools.

• The province’s new loan-reduction program is aimed primarily at low-income households and people with dependents. Last year, it forgave more than $65 million in student loans, and of the 25,000 people who benefited, 61 percent were women, receiving 63 percent of the amount forgiven.

• Women receive 60 percent of the student loans provided interest-free to students from B.C. while they are studying full time.

• The province invested $2 million to support the Women’s Health Research Institute to improve our understanding and treatment of disease and injury among women and to work closely with researchers and training programs across B.C. and across Canada.

• The province provided $3 million to increase the number of screening mammograms for women between the ages of 40 and 79 years old.

• The province funded the breast cancer drug Herceptin, to improve the survival rates of women with breast cancer.

• Government is spending close to $400,000 a year for expectant mothers in need and their babies by increasing monthly natal supplements from $35 to $45 each month.

• The Child Care Subsidy is a monthly payment that helps B.C. families with low incomes meet the costs of child care. Today’s child care subsidy rates meet or exceed all previous child care subsidy levels in B.C. Approximately 25,000 children per month benefit from the Child Care Subsidy.

• These changes mean 6,400 more children are eligible for subsidized child care and about 6,000 families will receive an increase in their existing subsidy.

• $6 million in new funding to support the creation and retention of child care spaces in British Columbia – over and above the $1.5 million in the existing capital budget.

• The number of single women on income assistance has declined by over 6,400 women.

• Funded a specialized $4-million Bridging Employment Program that assists women who have faced violence and/or abuse to overcome their barriers and move towards independence and employment. The Bridging Employment Program includes women who face additional barriers to employment due to language or culture (e.g. aboriginal clients or immigrants), and former sex trade workers.

• In 2005, this government allocated the largest funding increase in over a decade for transition houses and front-line services to help women escaping violence.

• This funding increase brings the yearly funding for these programs to $46.7 million. This increase funded 118 new services and enhanced 214 existing services. Women in over 100 communities throughout British Columbia are benefiting as a result of the services available through this funding increase

• For the first time ever in B.C., women escaping violent and abusive relationships have 24/7 access to safe housing.

• Ninety-five per cent of women in British Columbia now have access to services within an hour of their home.