Women & The Economy - Men/Women and the 10 Highest/Lowest Paid Occupations in Canada

The Wage Gap

In this section:

Men and Women's Income in Manitoba
Men/Women and the 10 Highest/Lowest Paid Occupations in Canada
Global Wage Gap

Men/Women and the 10 Highest/Lowest Paid Occupations in Canada

Occupation	# of women in occupation	# of men in occupation	women's average earnings	men's average earnings
Specialist physicians	11,255	21,800	$ 135,065	$ 202,467
Judges	695	2,085	$ 173,701	$ 179,503
Senior managers of financial, communications, and other businesses	11,745	42,155	$ 111,747	$ 176,478
Senior managers of goods production, utilities, transportation, and construction	7,320	51,385	$ 107,061	$ 168,627
General practitioners and family physicians	16,545	25,985	$ 102,435	$ 151,834
Dentists	5,735	12,555	$ 89,666	$ 150,690
Senior managers of trade, broadcasting, and other services	9,610	40,150	$ 79,912	$ 136,654
Lawyers	29,520	45,945	$ 87,736	$ 146,695
Engineering manager	1,850	16,535	$ 80,835	$ 117,047
Banking, credit, and investment managers	35,210	29,015	$ 93,023	$ 148,963

Men outnumber women in all 10 of the highest paying occupations in Canada. In the case of senior managers of goods production, utilities, transportation, construction, men outnumber women by more than 7:1. The women in this field earn only 63% of men doing the same work. In every occupation, men are paid substantially more than women.

Occupation # of women in occupation # of men in occupation women's average earnings men's average earnings

Sewing machine operators 27,750 2,490 $17,340 $20,664

Cashiers 47,110 9,025 $16,977 $20,557

Ironing, pressing and finishing occupations 2,375 990 $16,499 $19,297

Artisans and craftspersons 3,040 2,840 $13,565 $20,555

Bartenders 8,495 7,080 $14,940 $18,899

Harvesting labourers 605 525 $14,465 $18,683

Service station attendants 2,175 8,630 $14,947 $16,520

Food service counter attendants and food preparers 16,680 5,550 $14,681 $17,912

Food and beverage servers 38,250 11,940 $13,861 $18,192

Babysitters, nannies and parents' helpers 34,625 740 $12,662 $15,106

Women outnumber men in all of the lowest paying occupations in Canada except service station attendants. As babysitters, nannies and parents' helpers, women outnumber men by 47:1. In every occupation men are paid more than women.

Source: Statistics Canada. Nation Tables. Data on the 10 Highest Paying occupations is from 2006 census; however, data could not be easily accessed for the 10 lowest paying jobs for that year therefore the figures for the lowest paying jobs are from the 1996 census. Statistics Canada does not always compare certain data or make census findings in certain combinations readily available. Many stats need to be ordered specially and are quite expensive to obtain.

Find out how much the wage gap costs you by visiting CUPE's test.

What are the Causes?

The Wage Gap

Women and Poverty

What can governments do?

If You Need Help

Planning Ahead

Poverty in Canada Quiz

Global Poverty Quiz

"As I watched women and men express the value of their work, it seemed as if the two genders saw themselves as inhabiting separate economies. Many men, especially upper-class men, see themselves as luxury items in an expansive economy. They see themselves as rare - indeed, unique and irreplaceable - so they try to command the highest price the market will bear. Whereas women, regardless of class, tend to see themselves as cheap raw materials in a depressed economy. Told they are worth little, and that their skills are interchangeable, they tend to assume that they will do best by pricing themselves so low as to undercut all competitors - and throwing in the best service, to boot."

Naomi Wolf in 'Fire With Fire'

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