Women in the Workforce: Canada

POPULATION

Canada Is Facing Demographic Shifts Due to a Growing and Aging Population

Between July 1, 2018, and July 1, 2019, Canada’s estimated population growth rate of 1.4% was higher than that of any other Group of 7 (G7)1 nation and was more than twice that of either the United States or the United Kingdom, which tied with the second-highest growth rate of 0.6%.2

• In the same year, 82.2% of population growth was attributed to international migration,2 a record high for Canada.

As of July 1, 2019, women represented slightly more than half (50.3%) of Canada’s total population (37,589,262).3

By 2031, nearly one-quarter (22.7%) of the total female population is projected to be 65 or older, up from 17.5% in 2019.4

Canadian Women Are Becoming More Diverse

In 2016, 22.6% of all Canadian women and girls were women of colour (3.9 million).5

• By 2031, over 30% of Canadian women may be women of colour.6

In 2016, 4.9% of all Canadian women and girls identified as Aboriginal (860,265).7

• By 2031, the population of Aboriginal women may reach 1.1 million.8

EDUCATION

More Canadian Women Than Men Have a Tertiary Degree9

Younger women (ages 25-34) were more likely to have attained tertiary education degrees (70%) compared to younger men (53%) as of 2018.10

Just over a third (35%) of Canadian women had a university level of education in 2018, compared with 29% of men.11

• However, only 7% of Canadian women obtained post-secondary non-tertiary education,12 which includes certificates and diplomas in traditionally male-dominated trades such as energy, construction, and agriculture, compared with 14% of men.13

LABOUR FORCE 

Women’s Labour Force Participation Has Been Gradually Increasing for Decades14

In 2019, Canadian women 15 years and older represented nearly half (47.4%) of the labor force, compared to 37.6% in 1976—a percentage increase of over 25%.15

• Over half (61.4%) of Canadian women over age 15 participated in the labor force in 2019.15
• However, the Covid-19 pandemic threatens to derail these gains.14
  • The first two months of the pandemic dramatically impacted women. Only 55.5% of women participated in Canada’s labour force in April 2020, a drop from 61.2% in February 2020.14
  • Women are more likely than men to fall out of the workforce as a result of the pandemic.14

Canada has the fifth largest workforce in Artificial Intelligence (AI), but women make up less than a quarter (24%) of those employed.16

Parity Remains Elusive for Women in the Private Sector

In 2019, women were overrepresented (63.3%) in the public sector, but below parity (45.1%) in the private sector.17

Women Disproportionately Shoulder Caregiving Responsibilities

Women spend, on average, 3 hours and 44 minutes per day on unpaid work, compared with an average of 2 hours and 28 minutes for men.18

• In 2017, women were twice as likely (26%) to work part-time than men (13%). Among women, 27% listed childcare as a reason for working part-time.19

LEADERSHIP

Only 24 (or about 3.5%) of TSX-listed Canadian companies had a woman CEO as of July 2019.20

• Women represented an average of 17.9% of executive officers in S&P/TSX Composite Index companies as of December 2019.21

Percentage of Women Employed by Occupation in Canada22

Canadian women held just 27.6% of S&P/TSX board seats as of December 2019.21

• Bill C-25 passed in 2018, requiring publicly traded companies to disclose their policies on diversity, including that of their boards and senior management.23

THE PAY GAP

Canada’s Gender Pay Gap Has Narrowed Over the Past Twenty Years24

In 2019, full-time employed women (ages 15 and older) earned $0.89 for every dollar men earned, based on average hourly wages.25

• Among workers aged 25-54, women earned an average $4.13 less per hour than men in 2018. This gap is partially explained by:26
  • Occupational segregation, including the concentration of men in higher-paying sectors.26
  • The higher percentage of women working part-time (16.0%) compared to men (4.8%).26
• Despite having a higher share of tertiary degrees, highly educated Canadian women earned 73% of their male counterparts’ earnings in 2016.27

Women aged 25-34 experienced a 48% drop in wages in the first year of having a child in 2016.28

• Younger women (aged 25-29) faced an additional 14% decrease in earnings for the five-year period after having a child.28

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Catalyst, Catalyst Accord 2022: Accelerating the Advancement of Women.

Catalyst, Quick Take: People of Colour in Canada.

Sandrine Devillard, Geneviève Bonin, Anu Madgavkar, Mekala Krishnan, Tina Pan, Han Zhang, and Marissa Ng, Women Matter: The Present and Future of Women at Work in Canada (McKinsey, 2019).

Negin Sattari, Emily Shaffer, Sarah DiMuccio, and Dnika J. Travis, Interrupting Sexism at Work: What Drives Men to Respond Directly or Do Nothing? (Catalyst, June 25, 2020). (View in French / En Français.)

Jennifer Thorpe-Moscon, Alixandra Pollack, and Olufemi Olu-Lafe, Empowering Workplaces Combat Emotional Tax for People of Colour in Canada (Catalyst, 2019).