Women Still Make Less $ Than Men. No, really?

Women still earning less than men, says StatsCan
Tue, 07 Mar 2006
www.cbc.ca/news

Canadian women are still earning less than men in the workplace, an earning gap that hasn't shifted much in the past decade, suggests a new study from Statistics Canada.

Released on Tuesday, the report shows the number of women in the workforce is on the rise. Women made up 47 per cent of the employed work force in 2004, up from 37 per cent in 1976.

But the report indicates women are earning less in those jobs.

For all employed women in 2003, including those in part time and seasonal jobs, the average earnings were slightly under $25,000, compared to the roughly $39,000 average for all men with jobs.

Women working full-time jobs in 2003 had an average salary of $36,500 – 71 per cent of what their male counterparts earned. That gap hasn't changed much in the past 10 years, the study found.

Women are also more likely to work in part-time jobs than men.

"Women currently account for about 70 per cent of all part-time employees, a figure which has not changed appreciably since the mid-1970s," said the report.

Low-income single women outnumber male counterparts

The study also suggests single women and women who are single parents are more likely to live in low-income situations than their male counterparts.

In 2003, 31 per cent of unattached women older than 16 lived in low-income situations with average earnings of $28,000. That compares to an average earning of $34,000 for men in the same situation.

When it comes to single parent families, 38 per cent of families headed by a woman were low income. That compares to 13 per cent for male lone-parent families and seven per cent for two-parent families.

"As a result, lone-parent families headed by women continue to be home to a disproportionate share of all children living in a low-income situation," said the report.