According to Canada’s statistics, immigrant women see progress in the gender wage gap, which highlights improvements in pay equity.
The difference in hourly wages between Canadian-born men and women in similar job positions is known as the Gender Wage Gap (GWG) in Canada. In this wage comparison, men and women who are immigrants are now included in the analysis, thanks to a recent study by Statistics Canada. For the GWG assessment, it was necessary to look at income disparities for both full-time and part-time labor over a range of pay grades, from lower-paying to higher-paying professions. The study also examined the distinctions between immigrant women who came to Canada as adults and those who came as children.
The results showed a significant improvement. The pay gap between immigrant women and males who were born in Canada decreased from 14.7% in 2007 to 10.5% in 2022. Similar progress was accomplished by immigrant women who came to Canada as adults, with their pay gap closing from 27.4% in 2007 to 20.9% in 2022. These numbers reflect improvements in wage fairness for immigrant women over time in Canada.
In 2022, women born in Canada experienced a 9.2% gender wage gap (GWG) compared to men born in Canada. The 15% difference seen in 2007 has significantly decreased to this point. The decline in the GWG among women of Canadian ancestry represents a step toward more pay parity.
Notably, Canadian men who are immigrants have made significant progress at bridging the salary gap with their countrymen-born peers. According to the study, immigrant men have almost completely closed this salary gap, which represents a big step toward achieving wage parity. These data indicate that Canada is making progress in addressing pay disparities among various racial and ethnic groups.
Comparison between lower and higher pay scales
Female immigrant workers in lower-paying roles have experienced a significant reduction in the GWG since 2007, but this hasn’t been the case for women in higher-paying jobs.
A substantial decline in the wage gap for immigrants who arrived as adults and worked in lower-paying jobs enabled them to reduce it from 20.0% in 2007 to 6.3% in 2022, a reduction of 13.7 percentage points.
The salary disparity remained at 20.1% between 2007 and 2022, mostly reflecting the minor change in the experiences of those in higher-paying positions. A disparity of 11.3% existed for immigrant women who came to the country as youngsters and had higher-paying jobs.
The GWG takes age into account as well. The study emphasizes advances among immigrant women who entered Canada as adults and are now 25 to 29 years old. Their pay gap shrunk from 30.5% in 2007 to 12.0% in 2022, which is a considerable improvement.
Workforce participation of immigrant women in Canada
In professional positions, 26.1% of immigrant women who came to Canada as adults are working, according to Statistics Canada’s Labor Force Survey. In the past, lower-wage industries, particularly hospitality, food services, and lodging, have often seen an overrepresentation of immigrant women in Canada’s labor force, especially those from racialized backgrounds.
According to data from the August 2023 Labor Force Survey, female employees (6.2%) are more likely to work more than one job than male employees (4.7%). Similarly, the prevalence of having several jobs is higher among immigrants who entered Canada within the last ten years (less than 10 years ago), at 6.9%. This shows that women who have recently immigrated are more likely than others to work several jobs.
Females are less inclined to act as the primary applicants
The year 2022 saw 1,215,200 female immigrants enter Canada through a secondary immigration scheme for economic reasons, according to data. In economic immigration schemes like Express Entry, these individuals generally arrive as the spouses, partners, or dependents of principal applicants. Furthermore, 1,194,685 female immigrants entered Canada under the family class sponsorship program.
According to Statistics Canada, language problems and issues getting their abilities, education, or experience acknowledged frequently make it difficult for immigrant women who aren’t the primary economic candidates to get work. Many immigrant women also encounter challenges relating to gender, including as discrimination in the workplace and gender norms in their homes.
An immigrant woman with the youngest child aged 1 to 5 in her home country worked full-time, according to a September 2022 report by Statistics Canada. Similarly, 64% of Canadian-born women in similar circumstances were working full time.
During Budget 2021, the Canadian government committed more than $27 billion over 5 years to address gender-specific challenges. By collaborating with provinces and territories, this investment aims to establish a national early learning and childcare system.
According to a TD Economics analysis published in June, women with children under 6 are now more likely to be in the labor force than they were in 2020, up 4 percentage points. Thanks to greater childcare accessibility and more flexible employment policies, this amounts to almost 111,000 more women entering the workforce in Canada since 2020.
