Status of Women Canada
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Status of Women Canada

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Women in Canada at a Glance Statistical Highlights

Paid Work

  • In 2009, 8.1 million women (58.3%) were employed, more than double the number in 1976.
  • Despite considerable progress over the past three decades, women are still less likely to be employed than men. The exception is young women aged 15 to 24, who in recent years have shown consistently higher employment rates than young men.
  • Women with higher levels of education are more likely to be employed. Of female university graduates, 74.7% had jobs, compared to 59.1% of those with some post-secondary training and 56.2% with high school diplomas. In contrast, 35% of women who had not completed high school and 13.7% of those who had not gone beyond grade 8 were employed.
  • Employment rates among women with children have increased over the past three decades. In 2009, 72.9% of women with children under 16 living at home were part of the paid workforce; in 1976, the figure was 39.1%.
  • While about 73% of female employees worked full time in 2009, women were still more likely than men to have part-time jobs. The share of women working fewer than 30 hours per week at their main job has risen slightly, from 23.6% in 1976 to 26.9% in 2009. Over the same period, the share of men working part-time rose from 5.9% to 11.9%.
  • Over the past two decades, the number of self-employed women has grown. In 2009, nearly 1 million women, 11.9% of all those with jobs, were self-employed, up from 8.6% in 1976. However, men are still more likely than women to be self-employed: in 2009, 19.9% of Canadian men were self-employed.
  • A majority of women continue to work in traditional female occupations. In 2009, 67% of employed women had jobs in teaching, nursing and related health fields, clerical or other administrative positions, or in sales and services. Only 31% of employed men worked in these fields.
  • Women have expanded their representation in several professional fields. In business and finance, professional women's participation reached 51.2% in 2009, up from 38.3% in 1987. Women also comprised 55.2% of doctors, dentists and other health professionals in 2009, up from 43.1% in 1987. Similarly, 72.5% of professionals working in social sciences or religion in 2009 were women, compared with 61.4% in 1987.
  • Women are increasingly taking up managerial positions. In 2009, women comprised 37.0% of those employed as managers, up from 30.1% in 1987. However, slightly more women were working in lower-level management positions than in senior ones. In 2009, women made up 37.4% of lower-level managers and 31.6% of senior managers, up from 21.0% in 1987.
  • Among professionals in natural sciences, engineering and mathematics, women are still very much in the minority. In 2009, just 22.3% of professionals in these fields were women, up marginally from 19.5% in 1987.

Employment rates of women and men, 1976 to 2009

Sources: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey.

Text Equivalent of Chart 3

For additional information, consult the "Paid Work" chapter in Women in Canada: A Gender-based Statistical Report, 6th edition, or go to http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/89-503-x/2010001/article/11387-eng.htm.

Distribution of employment by occupations, 1987, 1999 and 2009
Occupations 1987 1999 2009
Women Men Women as a percentage of total occupations Women Men Women as a percentage of total occupations Women Men Women as a percentage of total occupations
percentage
1. Includes occupations that are not classified.
Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey.
Managerial
Senior management 0.3 0.8 21.0 0.4 0.8 28.2 0.3 0.6 31.6
Other management 5.7 9.7 30.7 6.9 10.6 35.5 6.7 10.4 37.4
Total management 6.0 10.5 30.1 7.2 11.3 35.1 7.0 11.0 37.0
Professional
Business and finance 1.9 2.3 38.3 3.1 2.7 49.3 3.6 3.2 51.2
Natural sciences/engineering/
mathematics 		2.3 7.0 19.5 3.0 9.6 20.7 3.3 10.6 22.3
Social sciences/religion 4.3 2.0 61.4 5.8 2.4 67.7 7.7 2.7 72.5
Teaching 3.8 2.6 52.3 5.2 2.7 61.9 5.8 2.7 65.9
Doctors/dentists/
other health 		0.9 0.9 43.1 1.1 1.0 47.3 1.5 1.1 55.2
Nursing/therapy/
other health related 		8.3 0.9 87.1 8.1 1.1 86.3 9.1 1.2 87.1
Artistics/literary/
recreational 		2.7 2.1 48.4 3.4 2.4 54.1 3.7 2.9 54.4
Total professional 24.1 18.0 50.4 29.7 21.9 53.4 34.7 24.4 56.7
Clerical and administrative 29.7 7.9 73.9 24.6 6.8 75.4 23.2 6.9 75.5
Sales and services 30.0 18.4 55.2 29.4 18.6 57.3 28.9 20.1 56.9
Primary 2.3 7.2 19.7 1.9 5.9 21.6 1.3 4.9 19.5
Trades, transport and
construction 		2.1 28.9 5.2 2.0 26.1 6.0 2.0 26.3 6.4
Processing, manufacturing
and utilities 		5.8 9.1 32.4 5.2 9.3 32.2 2.9 6.3 30.1
Total occupations 1 100.0 100.0 43.0 100.0 100.0 45.9 100.0 100.0 47.9
Total Employed (thousands) 5,307.7 7,025.3 ... 6,609.6 7,797.2 ... 8,076.2 8,772.7 ...

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Date Modified:
2013-01-11