Hourly wages, by occupation and sex

The male-female wage differential differs by occupation

• More than one in four Canadian employees (27%) work in sales and service occupations—the highest concentration of employees in the occupational groupings examined here. The wages in these jobs are the lowest, averaging only $12.34 per hour in 2003. The highest wages ($28.44) that year were earned by employees in management occupations, who represented 7% of all employees.
• In all occupational categories, women's average hourly wages has always been lower than men's. The greatest male-female wage gap was found in'blue collar' occupations such as trades, transport and equipment operators; processing, manufacturing and utilities; and occupations in the primary industries, where women earned 68 to 72 cents for every dollar earned by men. In comparison, women earned a more comparable amount—88 to 97 cents for every dollar earned by men—in occupations in the following areas: natural and applied sciences; social science, education, government service and religion; art, culture, recreation and sport; and health.

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