Unquestionably the most significant labour market change over the last few decades has been the rising educational attainment and increased labour market participation by women. As of August 2009, women represented 50.3% of Canada's paid workforce.[1] Women have also made great strides in educational attainment: “The percentage of female university graduates increased in all disciplines; they now represent over 50% of all graduates in all areas of study, with three exceptions: architecture and engineering; mathematics and information sciences; and personal, protective and transportation services.”[2]

One field where women have made great strides in accessing non-traditional occupations has been the field of medicine. The Committee heard that “[w]hile there are still more men than women in practice, the percentage of female first-year residents in 2008 was 57%.”[3] Even those fields of medicine where women continue to be under‑represented are seeing significant increases. “For instance, in general surgery—long held to be a bastion of male physicians—women comprised 18% of the 1993 first-year residents. That's compared to 40% in 2008.”[4]

The Committee heard that although “educated women are advancing nicely in the labour market... other women remain concentrated in a limited number of careers.”[5] Statistics Canada reported that the types of trades women pick haven't changed very much. Kathleen Lahey, Faculty of Law, Queen's University provided further evidence of this:

The top 10 jobs for women in 1891 were, in order of priority, servant, dressmaker, teacher, farmer, seamstress, tailoress, saleswoman, housekeeper, laundress, and milliner. In 2001 the top ten occupations for women in Canada were clerical worker, secretary, sales clerk, teacher, child care and/or domestic worker, nurse, food and beverage server, cashier, retail food and accommodation manager, and, as a sign of the times, machine operator, in tenth place.[6]

Wage Gap Between Men and Women

Despite the dramatic increase in the labour force participation of women, they continue to earn less, on average than men. There are a number of reasons why women earn less, on average, than men.

1. Women are more likely to work part-time than men, and the reasons for working part-time are different for men than for women. In 2008, among part-time workers, about six times as many women as men cited caring for family and personal family responsibilities as their reason for working part time;[7]
2. Women still take on a far greater share of caregiving for children and other family members;
3. And finally, women are still largely concentrated in the so-called female occupations. A recent TD Bank report on looming labour force shortages noted that women are concentrated in occupations that are generally lower-paying than those of their male counterparts. In 4 of the 10 occupational categories dominated by women (retail salespersons, clerical and administrative positions, and childcare and home support workers), the average wage is just half of the overall national average.

The factors which contribute to the gender wage gap are varied and complex. Some of the witnesses who appeared before the Committee suggested that one of the factors which could help address this gap would be to ensure that women have greater access to non-traditional jobs. This report will propose a number of possible policy recommendations which will facilitate the access of women to these jobs. Ultimately, it is the hope of the Committee that “as women move into what have traditionally been male occupations, and assuming that they are paid the same as their male counterparts, the wage gap should begin to close".[8]