A Word About Definitions

The definition of “non-traditional work” is dynamic, changing over time as women make strides in new occupational areas, catching up with and sometimes surpassing their male counterparts. Ten years ago the definition might have included the medical profession, for example, but a 2007 study found that women now make up more than a third of the physician workforce in Canada, and nearly half of all medical doctors under 40 years of age.[9] Despite encouraging trends in some areas of work, women continue to be under-represented in a number of occupational groups.

Internationally there is no standard definition for non-traditional occupation, however the Committee has heard that the term is generally understood to refer to a representation of between 25% to 33% of an occupational group. Statistics Canada and the U.S. Department of Labor define a non-traditional occupation for women “as an occupation in which fewer than 25% of the workers [are] women”.[10] The Quebec government applies a threshold of 33 ⅓ % to the definition.[11]

According to the 2006 Women in Canada report from Statistics Canada, “the majority of employed women continue to work in occupations in which women have traditionally been concentrated”.[12] In 2004, 67% of all employed women worked in teaching, nursing and related health occupations, clerical or other administrative positions, and sales and service occupations, as compared with 30% of employed men. Moreover, the share of female workers employed in these areas in 2004 was almost exactly the same as that in 1996. In 2004, women made up 87% of all nurses and health-related therapists, 75% of clerks and other administrators, 65% of teachers, and 57% of those working in sales and service.

Women Under-Represented in Some Trades and Professions

As women continue to enter the work force, many trades and professions have witnessed a gradual feminization of their work force. Some occupational groups have not changed dramatically, and others have slipped back on earlier progress.

The Committee has heard from employers and employees representing a wide diversity of occupational groups. Witnesses pointed out that 4% of the 550,000 members of the Construction Sector Council are women;[13] that only 2% of all employed women in Newfoundland and Labrador are working in higher-paying non-traditional occupations such as the construction trades, transportation occupations, and heavy equipment occupations;[14] that women represent only 1% of journeymen in industrial trades in Newfoundland and Labrador;[15] that today in Canada there is a lower percentage of women in computer science than there was 20 years ago;[16] that approximately 10% of licensed professional engineers are women;[17] and that the representation of women in mining and exploration in Canada stands at 14%.[18]

These statistics indicate that there is room for much improvement in increasing the participation of women in non-traditional jobs.