What percentage of mothers in the United States with infants under 1 year of age were in the labor force in 2015 quizlet?

1Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Recommendations to improve preconception health and health care—United States: A report of the CDC/ATSDR Preconception Care Work Group and the Select Panel on Preconception Care. MMWR. 2006;55(RR-06):1–23.

2Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Newborn screening for cystic fibrosis: evaluation of benefits and risks and recommendations for state newborn screening programs. MMWR. 2004;53(RR-13):1–36.

3Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Identifying infants with hearing loss—United States, 1999–2007. MMWR. 2010;59(8):220–23.

4Watson MS, Mann MY, Lloyd-Puryear MA, et al. Newborn screening: Toward a uniform screening panel and system [executive summary]. Pediatrics. 2006;117(5 Pt. 2):S296–307.

5Tucker MJ, Berg CJ, Callaghan WM, et al. The black-white disparity in pregnancy-related mortality from 5 conditions: Differences in prevalence and case-fatality rates. Am J Public Health. 2007 February 1;97(2):247–51.

6Williams DR, Collins C. US Socioeconomic and racial differences in health: Patterns and explanations. Ann Rev Soc. 1995;21:349–86.

7Braveman PA, Egerter SA, Mockenhaupt RE. Broadening the focus: the need to address the social determinants of health. Am J Prev Med. 2011 Jan;40(1 Suppl 1):S4–18.

8Bryant AS, Worjoloh A, Caughey AB, et al. Racial/ethnic disparities in obstetric outcomes and care: Prevalence and determinants. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2010 Apr;202(4):335–43.

9Williams DR. Racial/Ethnic Variations in Women’s Health: The Social Embeddedness of Health. Am J Public Health. 2002 April;92(4):588–97.

10Siddiqi A, Jones MK, Bruce DJ, Erwin PC. Do racial inequities in infant mortality correspond to variations in societal conditions? A study of state-level income inequality in the U.S., 1992-2007. Soc Sci Med. 2016 Sep;164:49–58.

11Loggins S, Andrade FC. Despite an overall decline in U.S. infant mortality rates, the Black/White disparity persists: recent trends and future projections. J Community Health. 2014 Feb;39(1):118–23.

12Gorman BK. Racial and ethnic variation in low birthweight in the United States: individual and contextual determinants. Health & Place. 1999 Sept;5(3):195–207.

13Blumenshine P, Susan Egerter, Colleen J. Barclay, et al. Socioeconomic Disparities in Adverse Birth Outcomes: A Systematic Review. Am J Prev Med. 2010 Sept;39(3):263–72.

14Braveman PA, Heck K, Egerter S, et al. The Role of Socioeconomic Factors in Black–White Disparities in Preterm Birth. Am J Pub Health. 2015 April;105(4):694–702.

15Larson K, Halfon N. Family income gradients in the health and health care access of US children. Matern Child Health J. 2010 Jun 5;14(3):332–42.

16Larson K, Russ SA, Crall JJ, et al. Influence of multiple social risks on children’s health. Pediatrics. 2008 Feb 1;121(2):337–44.

17Long W, Bauchner H, Sege R, Cabral H, Garg A. The Value of the Medical Home for Children Without Special Health Care Needs. Pediatrics. 2012 Jan;129(1):87–98.

18U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Surgeon General [Internet]. The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding. Rockville (MD): Office of the Surgeon General. c2011– [updated 2014 Aug 12]. Available from: http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/calls/breastfeeding

19Task Force on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. SIDS and Other Sleep-Related Infant Deaths: Updated 2016 Recommendations for a Safe Infant Sleeping Environment. Pediatrics. 2016 Oct:e20162938. Available from: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2016/10/20/peds.2016-2938

20U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office on Women’s Health. HHS blueprint for action on breastfeeding. Washington, DC: HHS; 2000.

21Ip S, Chung M, Raman G, et al. Breastfeeding and maternal and infant health outcomes in developed countries. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ); 2007. AHRQ Publication No. 07-E007.

22Shonkoff J, Philips D, editors, and National Research Council and Institute of Medicine Board on Children, Youth, and Families, Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. From neurons to neighborhoods: The science of early childhood development. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 2000.

23Anda RF, Felitti VJ, Walker J, et al. The enduring effects of abuse and related adverse experiences in childhood: A convergence of evidence from neurobiology and epidemiology. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2006 Apr;256(3):174–86.

24Culhane JF and Elo IT. Neighborhood context and reproductive health. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2005 May;192(5S): S22–S29.

25Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [Internet]. Zika Virus: Pregnancy. Atlanta: CDC. c2017– [updated 2017 Apr 4]. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/zika/pregnancy/index.html

26Petersen EE, Meaney-Delman D, Neblett-Fanfair R, et al. Update: Interim Guidance for Preconception Counseling and Prevention of Sexual Transmission of Zika Virus for Persons with Possible Zika Virus Exposure — United States, September 2016. MMWR. 2016;65:1077­–81.

27Chandra A, Copen CE, Stephen EH. Infertility service use in the United States: data from the National Survey of Family Growth, 1982-2010. Natl Health Stat Report. 2014 Jan 22;(73):1–21. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr073.pdf

28Chandra A, Copen CE, Stephen EH. Infertility and impaired fecundity in the United States, 1982-2010: data from the National Survey of Family Growth. Natl Health Stat Report. 2013 Aug 14;(67):1–18. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr067.pdf

Back to Top

Between July 1, 2018, and July 1, 2019, Canada’s estimated population growth rate of 1.4% was higher than that of any other Group of 7 (G7)1 nation and was more than twice that of either the United States or the United Kingdom, which tied with the second-highest growth rate of 0.6%.2

• In the same year, 82.2% of population growth was attributed to international migration,3 a record high for Canada.

As of July 1, 2019, women represented slightly more than half (50.3%) of Canada’s total population (37,589,262).4

By 2031, nearly one-quarter (22.7%) of the total female population is projected to be 65 or older, up from 17.5% in 2019.5

Canadian Women Are Becoming More Diverse

In 2016, 22.6% of all Canadian women and girls were women of colour (3.9 million).6

• By 2031, over 30% of Canadian women may be women of colour.7

In 2016, 4.9% of all Canadian women and girls identified as Aboriginal (860,265).8

• By 2031, the population of Aboriginal women may reach 1.1 million.9

EDUCATION

More Canadian Women Than Men Have a Tertiary Degree10

Younger women (ages 25-34) were more likely to have attained tertiary education degrees (70%) compared to younger men (53%) as of 2018.11

Just over a third (35%) of Canadian women had a university level of education in 2018, compared with 29% of men.12

• However, only 7% of Canadian women obtained post-secondary non-tertiary education,13 which includes certificates and diplomas in traditionally male-dominated trades such as energy, construction, and agriculture, compared with 14% of men.14

LABOUR FORCE 

Women’s Labour Force Participation Has Been Gradually Increasing for Decades15

In 2019, Canadian women 15 years and older represented nearly half (47.4%) of the labor force, compared to 37.6% in 1976—a percentage increase of over 25%.16

• Over half (61.4%) of Canadian women over age 15 participated in the labor force in 2019.17
• However, the Covid-19 pandemic threatens to derail these gains.18
  • The first two months of the pandemic dramatically impacted women. Only 55.5% of women participated in Canada’s labour force in April 2020, a drop from 61.2% in February 2020.19
  • Women are more likely than men to fall out of the workforce as a result of the pandemic.20

Canada has the fifth largest workforce in Artificial Intelligence (AI), but women make up less than a quarter (24%) of those employed.21

Parity Remains Elusive for Women in the Private Sector

In 2019, women were overrepresented (63.3%) in the public sector, but below parity (45.1%) in the private sector.22

Women Disproportionately Shoulder Caregiving Responsibilities

Women spend, on average, 3 hours and 44 minutes per day on unpaid work, compared with an average of 2 hours and 28 minutes for men.23

• In 2017, women were twice as likely (26%) to work part-time than men (13%). Among women, 27% listed childcare as a reason for working part-time.24

LEADERSHIP

Only 24 (or about 3.5%) of TSX-listed Canadian companies had a woman CEO as of July 2019.25

• Women represented an average of 17.9% of executive officers in S&P/TSX Composite Index companies as of December 2019.26

Percentage of Women Employed by Occupation in Canada27

Canadian women held just 27.6% of S&P/TSX board seats as of December 2019.28

• Bill C-25 passed in 2018, requiring publicly traded companies to disclose their policies on diversity, including that of their boards and senior management.29

THE PAY GAP

Canada’s Gender Pay Gap Has Narrowed Over the Past Twenty Years30

In 2019, full-time employed women (ages 15 and older) earned $0.89 for every dollar men earned, based on average hourly wages.31

• Among workers aged 25-54, women earned an average $4.13 less per hour than men in 2018. This gap is partially explained by:32
  • Occupational segregation, including the concentration of men in higher-paying sectors.33
  • The higher percentage of women working part-time (16.0%) compared to men (4.8%).34
• Despite having a higher share of tertiary degrees, highly educated Canadian women earned 73% of their male counterparts’ earnings in 2016.35

Women aged 25-34 experienced a 48% drop in wages in the first year of having a child in 2016.36

• Younger women (aged 25-29) faced an additional 14% decrease in earnings for the five-year period after having a child.37

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Catalyst Canada.

Full list of Catalyst Quick Takes.

Catalyst, Catalyst Accord 2022: Accelerating the Advancement of Women.

Catalyst, Quick Take: People of Colour in Canada.

Sandrine Devillard, Geneviève Bonin, Anu Madgavkar, Mekala Krishnan, Tina Pan, Han Zhang, and Marissa Ng, Women Matter: The Present and Future of Women at Work in Canada (McKinsey, 2019).

Negin Sattari, Emily Shaffer, Sarah DiMuccio, and Dnika J. Travis, Interrupting Sexism at Work: What Drives Men to Respond Directly or Do Nothing? (Catalyst, June 25, 2020). (View in French / En Français.)

Jennifer Thorpe-Moscon, Alixandra Pollack, and Olufemi Olu-Lafe, Empowering Workplaces Combat Emotional Tax for People of Colour in Canada (Catalyst, 2019).

How to cite this product: Catalyst, Quick Take: Women in the Workforce – Canada (August 19, 2020).