Nova Scotia Families in Flux

Nova Scotia families are in flux, says a fact sheet released today, May 22, by the Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women.

The fact sheet indicates that Nova Scotia families have changed dramatically over the past 20 years. Young people are delaying both marriage and child-bearing; common-law relationships are increasing in popularity; family size is diminishing; divorce is increasing; single parenting is on the rise; children are living with their parents longer than in the past; and, with the continued aging of Nova Scotia's population, increasing numbers of Nova Scotians are living alone.

Women remain the primary caregivers to children and are increasingly parenting on their own -- more than one quarter of families with children in the province are lone-parent families, the vast majority of which are headed by women. Women are also more likely to provide care for seniors and represent the majority of seniors who live alone or in health care institutions.

Workplace policies that promote and facilitate work-life balance for parents and other caregivers are integrally tied to equality for women. Support for caregivers and young families, in all their various and changing forms, must be improved if individuals and communities are to thrive and stay healthy.