The latest report released by Statistics Canada reflects the Gender Wage Gap (GWG) for all women in Canada based on their citizenship or immigration status. The Gender Wage Gap (GWG) is the disparity in hourly salary observed between Canadian-born men and women working in similar job roles. The survey also considered immigrant men and women in this salary analysis. 

Improvement in Gender Wage Gap (GWG) in Canada 

In estimating the Gender Wage Gap(GWG), Statistics Canada examined the variations in earnings for both full-time and part-time work across different income distributions, ranging from lower-income to higher-income positions. Additionally, they analyzed these earnings disparities among immigrant women who landed in Canada as adults versus those who immigrated as children. 

Overall, the difference between Canadian-born males and immigrant women who landed as children who came to the country as children decreased from 14.7% in 2007 to 10.5% in 2022. In addition, the difference between Canadian-born men and immigrant women who landed as adults decreased from 27.4% in 2007 to 20.9% in 2022. 

In 2022, the wage disparity between Canadian-born women and Canadian men was 9.2%. This is a decrease from 15% in 2007. 

The study found that the wage gap between immigrant men and Canadian-born men in Canada had nearly completely disappeared. 

Pay Disparity in Canada (Low Vs. High) 

Improvement in the Gender Wage Gap (GWG) in Canada is revealed clearly by Statistics Canada. 

Immigrant women in lower-paying occupations have experienced progress in narrowing the Gender Wage Gap (GWG), but those in higher-paying jobs have not witnessed any progress since 2007. 

For example, immigrant women who come to Canada as adults and are employed in lower-paying jobs narrowed their job gap by 13.7 %. This went from 20.0% in 2007 to 6.3% in 2022. 

However, immigrant women who landed as adults in higher-paying occupations have witnessed nearly no rise between 2007 and 2022, remaining at 20.1%. There is an 11.3% disparity for Immigrant women who entered as children at higher-paid jobs. 

It’s notable that the age of immigrants also impacts the Gender Wage Gap (GWG). As per the studies, immigrant women aged between 25 and 29 years who entered Canada as adults have seen wage improvement. This went from 30.5% in 2007 to 12.0% in 2022. 

The role of Immigrant women in the Canadian workforce. 

As per the Labor Force Survey conducted by Statistics Canada, around 26.1% of women who immigrated to Canada as adults are employed in professional employment. 

In general, immigrant women in Canada’s workforce, especially racialized women, have traditionally been represented excessively in lower-wage jobs. These include food services, hospitality, and accommodation. 

Besides this, the August 2023 labor force study data revealed that among 6.9% of immigrants who entered Canada less than ten years ago, 

around 6.2% of female workers were more likely to hold various jobs compared to men, which is around 4.7%. This implies that women who recently immigrated to Canada are more likely to be employed in multiple job roles. 

Fewer Women as Primary Applicants in Canadian Immigration 

According to a 2022 report, 1,215,200 immigrant women entered Canada as secondary applicants under the economic immigration program. 

By secondary applicant, we mean that the immigrant women were spouses, common-law partners, or dependents of other applicants (primary applicants) who applied for Canadian immigration under any economic immigration program, i.e., Express Entry. Furthermore, a total of 

1,194,685 immigrants were women who immigrated to Canada under the Family class Sponsorship. 

As per Statistics Canada, immigrant women who are not primary applicants generally face more challenges in finding jobs in Canada due to their proficiency in official languages as well as getting their abilities recognized, such as education, work experience, or skills. 

Moreover, the report mentions that many immigrant women face gendered barriers like inequality in workplaces and gendered allocations of household duties in families. 

The September 2022 Statistics Canada report reveals that approximately 45% of immigrant women worked full-time while they were in a relationship with children ages between 1 and 5. This percentage, when compared to Canadian-born women in a similar situation who were employed in a full-time job, was 64%. 

As a part of Budget 2021, the Canadian government funded more than $27 billion over five years in order to lessen some of the gender-based burden on Women, such as childcare. This was done with the intention of establishing a nation with an early learning and childcare system in collaboration with the provincial and territorial governments. 

In addition, a report released last June by TD Economics stated that since 2020, the labor market participation rate among women with children of age six has increased by four percentage points. This implies that since 2020, around 111,000 more women have entered the Canadian Labor market as childcare becomes more accessible and workplaces have become more flexible for women with hybrid arrangements.