seven

the wins and woes of women in the workforce

Women have had some major triumphs in the PSE system in recent decades. In fact, when it comes to getting a degree, we're kicking ass. Some interesting statistics:

• In 1971, 68 per cent of graduates between 25 and 29 were male. By 1991, women comprised the majority of university graduates
• As of 2006, 81.1 per cent of females surveyed in the Youth in Transition Survey were in university or college, versus 68.4 per cent of males. This difference is due mainly the the large percentage of women in universities
• In 2010, 71 per cent of women between 25 and 44 years old had completed a post-secondary education, compared to 65 per cent of men
• In elementary school, females tend to behave in a way that promotes better school outcomes. One study showed boys aged 10–11 are less likely to work neatly, more likely to get into fights, and more likely to be restless or hyperactive
• This trend continues in to high school, affecting factors that are directly linked to positive post-secondary outcomes. Females perform better on standardized tests, receive higher grades, spend more time doing homework on a weekly basis, and are less likely to have to repeat a grade

So the good news is women are—in larger numbers than ever before—making it in to post-secondary institutions, particularly when compared to men. But the news isn't all good. Upon entering the workforce, women still face inequality when compared to their male counterparts:

• In 2008, women earned about 65 per cent of what men earned in the same year. These differences can be attributed to difference in hours worked, as women are less likely to work full time
• Females have a more difficult time paying off their student debt, since women earn, on average, less than men
• According to the Canadian Association of University Teachers, 28.7 per cent of full-time professors at all ranks and only 15.1 per cent of full professors are women. In 2006–07, female full-time professors on average earned $117,875, while males of the same status earned $124,603
• The percentage of women members of Parliament in the House of Commons sits at 22.1 per cent—below the OECD average
• According to the 2006 census, the number of women in Canada working in the STEM fields ranged from 12.2 per cent in engineering to 36.7 per cent in the life sciences. A study done in the U.S. has projected it will take another 40–50 years before men and women are being hired at an equal rate in the STEM fields
  

In addition to the inequality faced by women in the workforce, a paper by the University of Ottawa's Education Policy Research Initiative found: 

The negative effects of being in a low income family, of having parents with no PSE of their own, of coming from a single parent family, or of being disabled are all greater for females than males. 

Something to think about on the 101st anniversary of International Women's Day!