While Canada ranks No. 21 out of 146 countries for women’s labour force participation, its wage equality ranking sits at No. 52, according to a new report by the World Economic Forum.
It found Canada’s gender pay gap was roughly 17 per cent in comparison to other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development member countries. The report also noted that, while Canada has closed roughly 77 per cent of its overall gender gap — which includes economic, health and social factors — this percentage remained unchanged from 2022.
Read: More work to be done in shrinking Canada’s gender pay gap: report
Iceland ranked No. 1 for having closed 91 per cent of its gender gap. It was also ranked No. 14 for women’s labour force participation and No. 5 for wage equality, with a gender pay gap of 12.9 per cent compared to other OECD member countries.
Over the last year, parity in the global labour force participation rate increased from 63 per cent to 64 per cent as women entered or re-entered the workforce at a slightly higher rate than men, said the report. However, it also noted this percentage was at its second-lowest point since the index was first published in 2006 and was lower than its 2009 peak of 69 per cent.
“Even when women secure employment, they often face substandard working conditions. A significant portion of the recovery in employment since 2020 can be attributed to informal employment, whereby out of every five jobs created for women, four are within the informal economy.”
Read: My Take: Employers can do more to shrink gender pay, pension gaps