Lone mothers, young women under the age of 25 and unattached older women aged 55 to 64 years have higher rates of social assistance receipt. Mothers of young children, especially lone mothers, are also at high risk for relying on social assistance. Social assistance receipt is roughly the same across Canada, with the exception of the Prairie provinces where all women, regardless of family type, have lower rates. While women's immigration status is linked to the likelihood of being a social assistance recipient, this trend is only evident among fairly recent immigrants who face significant barriers to labour market participation. Women with disabilities are also much more likely than women without disabilities to rely on social assistance.
Reality is much more complicated.
Forty-one per cent of women who received social assistance income in 1994 had paid employment at some point during the year, while 59 per cent did not do paid work. These statistics demonstrate that social assistance receipt is transitional. In any given year, many women receiving social assistance have a mix of income transfers and earnings. Lone-parent families received the highest average amount, while unattached women received the lowest. Clearly, some women live in families in which receipt of social assistance is a short-term income source.