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The Daily. Thursday, September 14, 2000
Canadian women have made tremendous strides in their educational attainment in the past several decades. In 1996, 12% of all women aged 15 and over had a university degree - double the figure in 1981 (6%) and four times that in 1971 (3%). Women, however, are still somewhat less likely than men to have a university degree.
The overall difference in the proportions of women and men with a university degree is likely to narrow further in the future, since women currently make up the majority of full-time students in universities. However, women's share of full-time university enrolment declines at higher levels of study. While they make up the majority of full-time students in most university departments, women continue to account for a minority of full-time enrolment in mathematics and science faculties.
In 1999, 55% of all women aged 15 and over had jobs, up from 42% in 1976. As a result, women accounted for 46% of the work force in 1999, up from 37% in 1976. A substantial proportion of employed women work part-time. In 1999, 28% of all employed women worked less than 30 hours per week, compared with just 10% of employed men.
The employment rate of women with children has grown particularly sharply in the past two decades, especially for those with preschool-aged children. By 1999, 61% of women with children less than age 3 were employed, more than double the figure in 1976.
The majority of employed women continue to work in occupations in which women have traditionally been concentrated. In 1999, 70% of all employed women were working in teaching, nursing and related health occupations, clerical or other administrative positions, and sales and service occupations. The proportion of women employed in traditionally female-dominated occupations, however, has slowly declined since 1987, when 74% were in such jobs.
Women have increased their representation in several professional fields in recent years. In 1999, women made up 49% of business and financial professionals, up from 41% in 1987. Women also made up 47% of all doctors and dentists in 1999, up from 44% in 1987. Women have also increased their share of total employment in managerial positions from 29% in 1987 to 35% in 1999. In contrast, only 20% of professionals employed in the natural sciences, engineering, and mathematics in 1999 were women, a figure that has changed little since 1987 (17%).
Even when employed, women are still largely responsible for looking after their homes and families. In 1998, women employed full-time with a spouse and at least one child under age 19 at home spent 4.9 hours per day on unpaid work activities, an hour and a half more per day than their male counterparts.
Women make up a disproportionate share of those with low incomes. In 1997, 2.8 million women, 19% of the total female population, were living in low-income situations, compared with 16% of the male population. Also in 1997, almost half of unattached senior women (49%) and 56% of all families headed by lone-parent mothers had incomes which fell below the low-income cut-offs.
The average earnings of employed women are still substantially lower than those of men. In 1997, women working full-time, full-year had average earnings of just under $31,000, or 73% of their male counterparts' earnings. However, the average earnings of these women is up from 68% in 1990 and around 64% in the early 1980s.
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Colin Lindsay (613-951-2603; fax: 613-951-0387; lindcol@statcan.gc.ca), Housing, Family and Social Statistics Division.