Facts, stats, and impact: Gender equality
The following statistics highlight the progress that has been made and the work that remains to build a Canada where women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people can reach their full potential and contribute fully to a strong, resilient and prosperous Canada.
A note on Gender-based Analysis Plus: People’s experiences of gender equality are shaped by many factors, including age, disability, race, ethnicity, Indigeneity, sexual orientation, gender identity, immigration status, and where they live. Where data is available, statistics on this page highlight differences between population groups to better understand diverse experiences, barriers, and outcomes.
Entering the workforce and building skills
Why it matters
When women have equal access to education, skills training, and safe and inclusive workplaces, everyone benefits. Affordable child care, opportunities in growing sectors like AI and the green economy, and measures that help women succeed at work strengthen Canada’s talent pool, address labour shortages, boost productivity, and build a stronger economy.
Progress
Most working-age women have college or university credentials, even outpacing men, making Canada one of the most educated countries in the world.Footnote 1 This marks significant progress from 1976, when fewer than 30% of women had any postsecondary education.Footnote 2
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A growing number of Indigenous women are pursuing higher education. In 2021, more than half of Indigenous women aged 25 to 64 (54%) completed a postsecondary qualificationFootnote 3
The labour force participation rate of women continues to trend upward. In 2025, the labour force participation rate of core-aged women (25 to 54) was 85%,Footnote 4 up from 38% in 1976.Footnote 5
More Indigenous women are working today than a decade ago. Between 2015 and 2025, the employment rate among Indigenous women aged 25 to 54 increased from 63% to 71%.Footnote 6
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Expanding affordable child care has helped increase Canada’s GDP by over 1% since 2019, adding roughly $32 billion, and enabling more parents, especially women, to work.Footnote 7
Work that remains
- In 2021, women made up 35% of STEM bachelor’s degree holders among Canadians aged 25 to 64. Women with STEM degrees are more likely to be unemployed and have lower median salaries than men with STEM degreesFootnote 8
- Indigenous women are less likely than non-Indigenous women to have completed postsecondary education (54% vs. 71%) and are less likely to hold a bachelor's degree or higher (16% vs. 37%)Footnote 9
- Women continue to be over-represented in low-wage occupations – in 2022, 28% of women, compared to 16% of men, worked in the five lowest-paid occupations: in sales and service jobs, as care providers, and in administrative support rolesFootnote 10
- In 2022, core-aged women (25 to 54) without disabilities had a higher employment rate (84%) compared to women with disabilities (73%)Footnote 11
- About 18% of 2SLGBTQI+ people aged 25 to 64 are in the lowest income group in Canada, compared to 14% of straight, cisgender individualsFootnote 12
- Access to employment is not equal for everyone. In 2021, 30% of transgender women and 22% of transgender men reported being denied employment because of their gender identityFootnote 13
- In 2020, cisgender men aged 25 to 64 who worked full time for the full year had the highest earnings ($81,900). Earnings were lower for:
- transgender men ($68,900)
- cisgender women ($67,800)
- non-binary people ($66,000)
- transgender women ($64,300)Footnote 14
- Indigenous women aged 25 to 54 are less likely to be employed than non-Indigenous women (71% vs. 80% in 2025). This gap has changed little since 2019Footnote 15
- On average, women spend four more hours per week caring for adults and eight more hours per week caring for children, in comparison to men. This means women have less time to be able to work full-time, earn more money throughout their careers, or even just take a breakFootnote 16
Advancing leading and owning businesses
Why it matters
When women have equal opportunities to advance their careers, start and grow businesses, and build wealth, organizations benefit from diverse talent and perspectives, productivity grows, and Canada’s economy is stronger and more resilient.
Progress
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Women entrepreneurs don’t just contribute to Canada’s economy, they anchor it. Women are majority owners of approximately 20% of all businesses across the country.Footnote 17
Majority women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises generate more than $90 billion in annual revenues and employ close to one million people.Footnote 18
There are over 100,000 2SLGBTQI+ owned businesses in Canada, generating over $22 billion in economic activity and employing over 435,000 people.Footnote 19
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Indigenous women are slightly more likely to own a business than non-Indigenous women (23% vs. 20%), underscoring the important contribution of Indigenous women entrepreneurs to Canada’s economy.Footnote 20
When women lead, organizations are 25% more likely to outperform peers in profitability and innovation.Footnote 21
Work that remains
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Women make up nearly half the workforce but only 37% of them are managers and just 5% of Canadian companies have a woman CEOFootnote 22
- Indigenous women (1%), Black women (1.8%), 2SLGBTQIA+ women (1.8%), and women with disabilities (3.5%) are also underrepresented in organizational pipelines to senior management positions.Footnote 23
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Women with intersecting lived experiences remain underrepresented on corporate boards. In 2025:
- 1% of directors were Indigenous women
- 2.5% were Black women
- 1% were women with disabilities
- 1% were 2SLGBTQIA+ womenFootnote 24
Promoting economic opportunities to address systemic barriers
Why it matters
Women’s financial security is shaped by factors beyond individual choices. The gender pay gap, unequal caregiving responsibilities, barriers to resources and opportunities, and global economic conditions can affect a woman’s ability to earn, save, and thrive. Addressing these challenges helps reduce poverty, strengthen families and communities, and support long-term prosperity.
Progress
Canada’s Early Learning and Child Care program is making life more affordable, delivering high-quality, low-cost care to 900,000 children and saving families up to $16,200 per child each year.Footnote 25
In 2018, Canada adopted the Pay Equity Act to ensure fair compensation for men and women in the federal public service and federally governed institutions.
Work that remains
- Women in Canada still face a gender pay gap that is the second highest in the G7Footnote 26
- In 2025, women aged 25 to 54 working full-time or part-time earned 89 cents for every dollar earned by a man.Footnote 27The wage gap is even greater for Black, Indigenous, and racialized womenFootnote 28
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Income inequality persists in retirement. In 2022, senior women earned 26% less than senior men, down from 34% in 1976Footnote 29
- In 2024, children in female-led lone-parent families (30%) and seniors who lived alone or with people they were not related to (27%) had lower income rates compared to the overall populationFootnote 30
- Senior racialized women are the most likely of all groups of senior women to live in low income or povertyFootnote 31
- Senior women are more likely than senior men to live in inadequate or unaffordable housing. In 2021, nearly one in five (19%) senior women in Canada lived in unaffordable housing (compared with 14% of senior men)Footnote 32
- Senior women were more likely than senior men (20% vs 15% in 2018) to live in a household spending 30% or more of its income on shelter costsFootnote 33
- When parents have difficulty finding child care, it can affect their work and studies. In 2022, the most common impacts were:
- Changing work or study schedules (38%)
- Working fewer hours (37%)
- Paying more than expected for child care (33%)Footnote 34