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Status of Women Canada

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Women in Canada at a Glance Statistical Highlights

Economic Well-Being

  • While the wage gap persists, progress is being made on closing it. In 2008, women earned, on average, 83 cents to every dollar earned by men (an increase of eight cents since 1988).
  • Variation between the earnings of married and single women is slight. In 2008, single never-married women aged 45 to 54 earned on average $54,300; married women in the same age group averaged $52,300. The variation was greater for men: single never-married men aged 45 to 54 earned on average $50,300; married men averaged almost $74,200.
  • While earnings for both sexes rise with levels of education, the difference is greater for women. Women working full-year, full-time with less than a Grade 9 education averaged less than 35% of the earnings of female university graduates. In comparison, men with less than Grade 9 averaged about 44% of the earnings of male university graduates. Also note that even with equivalent education levels, men earned more than women.
  • The incidence of dual-income families has increased over the last 30 years. In 1976, only 47% of husband-wife families were dual-income; by 2008, 64% of husband-wife families were dual-earner.
  • Incidence of low income has decreased for both women and men over the last three decades. In 1976, almost 15% of women and 11% of men lived on low incomes. By 2008, however, 10% of women and 9% of men lived in low-income situations.
  • Those in the 65-and-older age group saw the biggest improvement over the period 1976 to 2008: the incidence of low income fell from 29% in 1976 to just less than 6% in 2008.
  • In 1976, 54% of female lone-parent families lived on low incomes. By 2008, the percentage of these low-income families had dropped to 21%.
  • Among paid workers, registered pension plan coverage declined from about 45% in 1992 to 38% in 2008. Coverage for men who were paid workers was down by about 11 percentage points over the 1992-to-2008 period; women's coverage declined by three percentage points.
Average annual earnings of women and men employed full-year, full-time, by educational attainment, 2008
Level of education Women Men Earnings ratio
dollars percentage
Note: Average annual earnings excludes Canadians with no earnings.
Source: Statistics Canada, Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics
Less than grade 9 20,800 40,400 51.5
Some secondary school 28,600 43,600 65.6
Graduated high school 35,400 50,300 70.4
Some postsecondary 36,400 50,100 72.6
Postsecondary certificate or diploma 41,100 57,700 71.2
University degree 62,800 91,800 68.3
Total 44,700 62,600 71.3
Percentage of persons in low income after tax, by economic family type, 1976 to 2008
Persons in low income 1976 1981 1986 1991 1996 2001 2006 2007 2008
percentage
Source: Statistics Canada, CANSIM table 202-0804.
Elderly families 17.7 9.6 4.9 3.1 3.0 2.9 2.9 1.8 2.6
Non-elderly families 9.7 8.8 9.8 10.8 13.0 8.6 7.9 6.5 6.7
Married couples 5.8 5.0 5.9 7.7 8.4 6.4 5.6 4.8 5.5
Couples with children 8.2 7.5 8.5 8.7 10.7 7.3 7.1 5.6 6.0
Other couples 3.2 2.6 3.0 2.8 4.6 4.4 2.2 1.4 1.8
Female lone parent 53.7 44.2 48.7 49.8 52.9 34.2 28.9 24.0 20.9
Male lone parent 17.9 12.2 16.3 18.7 24.5 11.4 6.9 9.2 7.0
Other non-elderly families 13.1 11.8 11.6 12.7 13.3 7.4 9.4 9.4 9.7

For additional information, consult the "Economic Well-being" 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/11388-eng.htm.

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Date Modified:
2013-01-11