Women in work index: Canadian insights
Gender parity at work improves profitability, workplace culture and the economy. By closing the wage gap and increasing female workforce participation, Canada could see $105 billion in GDP growth and other economic benefits.
PwC’s Women in Work Index is a weighted average of five measures that reflect female economic empowerment, including the equality of earnings, the ability of women to access employment opportunities and job security. The results show Canada is holding steady in eighth position out of 33 countries.
Key Canadian findings:
- Canada has strong female labour force participation (74 per cent), above the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average of 68 per cent.
- The gap between male and female labour force participation has been declining since 2000 but stayed constant between 2013 and 2014.
- Female unemployment remains roughly constant on average with a slight decrease since 2000.
- The percentage of women in full-time employment is 73 per cent — below the OECD average of 75 per cent — and has stayed flat since 2000.
- Canada ranks 25th out of 33 countries on gender wage gap, showing room for improvement in closing the gap.
- In Canada, women are paid $81 for every $100 their male counterparts earn.
For female board membership, Canada is 11 per cent away from the federal government’s corporate target of 30 per cent by 2019.