Just the Facts
International Women’s Day 2022

International Women’s Day is an opportunity to highlight the status of progress made towards achieving gender equality, as well as celebrate women’s and girls’ social, economic, cultural, and political contributions and achievements. Using data from a number of Statistics Canada sources, this article features women’s contributions to leadership and decision-making in the economic, political, social, and educational spheres.

In addition to occupying leadership and decision-making occupations in the economic and political domains, women also demonstrate leadership in their communities

Compared to two decades ago, overall, there are more women in management occupations in Canada.^Note  In 2021, women accounted for more than one-third (35.6%) of people aged 15 years and over employed in management occupations,^Note  compared to 33.6% in 2001. At the senior management level, the proportion of those employed in these positions who are women has increased from 24.1% in 2001 to 30.9% in 2021.^Note 

The representation of women in management occupations was higher among Indigenous people than among non-Indigenous people in 2021. Specifically, Indigenous women represented 42.2% of Indigenous people^Note  employed in management occupations, compared to 35.5% of non-Indigenous people. Among First Nations people and Métis employed in management occupations in 2021, 44.7% and 41.0% were women, respectively.^Note 

Over the past decades, women have increasingly occupied leadership and decision-making positions in the political sphere. As of July 1, 2021, there were 99 women Members of Parliament, accounting for 29.4% of elected officials in federal Parliament—an increase of almost 9 percentage points since July 2001.^Note   

The increase in women’s representation in leadership and decision-making positions in the political domain is even more pronounced among federal ministerial positions (which are appointed positions). As of July 1, 2021, women comprised almost half (48.6%) of ministers appointed to federal Cabinet, which was double the proportion (24.3%) of women in these positions almost two decades ago (i.e., July 1, 2002).^{Note  Note} 

Traditionally, First Nations had their own governance systems, many of which were inclusive of women. The Indian Act replaced these forms of governance with band council elections and prohibited women from participating. It was not until the 1951 amendments to the Indian Act that women were finally able to vote and participate in band council elections. Since 1992, the proportion of seats held by women in First Nations band councils increased from 20.5% to 27.4% in 2019.^Note  Likewise, the proportion of Chiefs in First Nations communities who are women increased from 11.5% in 1992 to 18.5% in 2019.^{Note  Note} 

In addition to the ways in which women demonstrate leadership in the economic and political spheres, women also demonstrate leadership in their communities by volunteering. Four in 5 (80.2%) women aged 15 years and over engaged in overall volunteering (i.e., formal and/or informal volunteering) in 2018, each contributing an average of 238 volunteer hours annually.^{Note  Note} 

Women are pursuing diverse educational paths

One of the ways in which women are demonstrating leadership is by pursuing fields of study traditionally chosen by men, namely science and science technology, engineering and engineering technology, and mathematics and computer and information science (STEM). Although gender parity (i.e., 50% women and 50% men) was not achieved in 2016 in terms of individuals aged 25 years and over with a university certificate, diploma or degree at the bachelor level or above in STEM,^Note  younger women were more likely than their older counterparts to have a postsecondary qualification at the bachelor level or above in STEM. Among those with a postsecondary qualification at the bachelor level or above, women accounted for almost 2 in 5 (39.0%) of those aged 25 to 34 years with a STEM degree, whereas they represented 26.8% of those aged 55 to 64 years with a STEM degree.^Note  This suggests that the proportion of women in STEM fields of study at the bachelor level or above may increase in the coming years.

Relative to their share of all women aged 25 years and over^Note  with a postsecondary qualification at the bachelor level or above in 2016 (29.6%), women designated as visible minorities^Note  accounted for a large proportion of women graduates with a postsecondary qualification at the bachelor level or above in STEM (44.4%).^Note  This was particularly the case for certain groups of visible minority women: while they represented 7.3%, 1.8%, and 1.2%, respectively, of all women with a postsecondary qualification at the bachelor level or above, Chinese, Arab, and West Asian women accounted for 13.9%, 3.2%, and 2.8%, respectively, of all women with a postsecondary qualification at the bachelor level or above in STEM.^Note 

Similarly, immigrant women, who comprised 34.1% of all women with a postsecondary qualification at the bachelor level or above, accounted for more than half (51.2%) of women with a postsecondary qualification at the bachelor level or above in STEM.^Note 

Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Statistics Hub

Statistics Canada’s Centre for Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Statistics has established the Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Statistics (GDIS) Hub, which allows for easy access to data and analysis disaggregated by sex, gender, sexual orientation and other identity factors (e.g., Indigenous identity, immigrant status, geography). Data tables and analysis cover a wide range of topics, including education, families, income and time use.

The GDIS Hub includes, and connects to, a new Sex, Gender and Sexual Orientation Hub, which includes data and analyses on sex, gender, and LGBTQ2+ individuals, and will, over time, feature more functionality, such as the ability to filter by population group.