When it comes to what city is the best to be a woman in, London has fallen far down the rankings.
Last year, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives ranked London third overall for gender equality in Canada's 25 biggest cities. This year, the city fell to 12th place.
London saw declines in three of the five categories, economic security, health, and leadership. However, the city saw gains in personal security and kept its 16th place ranking for education.
"The Best and Worst Places to be a Woman" annual survey downgraded economic security from second place in 2016 to sixth because employment for women has declined over the past year. While women in London have enjoyed a smaller wage gap compared to their female counterparts in other cities, they still bring home on average $9,000 less a year than men. London is also one of the few cities in Canada where poverty rates are higher for men than women.
London also fell from fourth place to eighth in the leadership category. Although two out of the region's eight mayors are female, just under a third of elected officials are women. Outside of politics, women hold 36% of management positions.
Life expectancy is about the Canadian average in London, but women are less likely to rate their health as very good or excellent, and rates for screening for cervical cancer are below average. In the health category, the city was ranked 24th, up from the 21st spot a year ago.
One place where London saw a significant improvement was in personal security. Although the unfounded rate for police-reported sexual assaults is 30%, compared to 19% across Canada, the city went from a 16th place showing to sixth.
