Educational participation and attainment of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people in Canada

Released: 2022-02-01

A new article released today examines the educational participation and level of education of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people in Canada using data from the Canadian Community Health Survey (2015 to 2018). An estimated 900,000 LGB people aged 15 years and older were living in Canada between 2015 and 2018.

Gay men are more likely than heterosexual men and heterosexual women to have completed a bachelor's degree or higher, while a similar share of women hold this qualification, regardless of sexual orientation

From 2015 to 2018, over three-quarters (77.4%) of the gay and lesbian population aged 25 to 64 years held a postsecondary qualification, either at the university or college level or in a skilled trade. In comparison, a smaller proportion of heterosexual (72.0%) and bisexual people (68.1%) held a postsecondary qualification during the same period.

Of the different types of postsecondary qualifications, a larger proportion of gay and lesbian people (41.2%) held a bachelor's degree or higher, compared with heterosexual individuals (32.6%). A greater share of gay men held a bachelor degree or higher (43.2%) than heterosexual men (30.3%) and heterosexual women (34.9%), while a similar proportion of women had completed a bachelor degree or higher, regardless of sexual orientation.

Heterosexual men are more likely than women of all sexual orientations and gay men to hold a trade qualification as their highest level of education

The skilled trades play an important role in the Canadian economy and society. To address a shortage of tradespeople exacerbated by an aging workforce, initiatives have been developed to attract a more diverse workforce, including women, who remain underrepresented in the skilled trades. In the 2015-to-2018 period, heterosexual men aged 25 to 64 years were most likely to have obtained a trade qualification as their highest level of education (13.7%), compared with gay men (7.5%), heterosexual women (6.2%), lesbian or gay women (7.7%), and bisexual women (6.0%).

The estimate for lesbian or gay women with a trade qualification as their highest level of education should be used with caution.

Bisexual youth aged 18 to 29 years make up a higher share of youth not in employment, education or training, compared with heterosexual or gay and lesbian youth

Youth is an important life stage for laying the foundation for later success in terms of employment, income, and life satisfaction. Youth not in employment, education or training (NEET) is an indicator that is closely followed by governments and reported on regularly by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Previous research suggests that youth NEET may be at risk for long-term economic and social difficulties. The highest share of youth NEET aged 18 to 29 years were among the bisexual population (14.7%). In comparison, 9.9% of heterosexual youth and 5.3% of gay and lesbian youth were NEET.

The estimate for gay and lesbian youth NEET should be used with caution.

Products

The article "Educational participation and attainment of lesbian, gay and bisexual people in Canada," which is part of Just the Facts (Catalogue number89280001), is now available.

Contact information

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).