In the 1970s, women’s participation in postsecondary education increased significantly. Women have been earning at least half of undergraduate degrees awarded in Canada since 1980.
This new, although still limited, access to education gave way to the entry of women into many fields of work where they had seldom been represented.
However, beyond the initial breakthrough into elite fields such as medicine and law, any high-paying professions are still dominated largely by men. Conversely, most low-income, low job security occupations are still feminised”. The Wage Gap although estimates of the difference in average earnings between men and women (“wage gap”) differ by source and methodology, the most recent data from Statistics Canada shows that women earn 80 cents for every dollar earned by men.
When examined on a full-time, full-year basis, women’s gross earnings were $33,774 in 2000, or 71.7% of men’s yearly earnings.
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