Statistics on Women in Canada (Statistics Canada)

In 1991, 10% of women aged 15 and over were university graduates.

In 1992-1993, women accounted for the majority (52%) of full-time under-graduate university students in Canada, 46% of Master's students but only 35% of full-time doctoral students.

Women accounted for only 28% of students enrolled in mathematics and physical sciences and 18% of those in engineering and applied sciences. (1992-1993)

Poverty

In 1993, 60% of female lone-parents lived in low-income situations. 28% of visible minority women and 33% of Aboriginal women lived in a low-income situation.

In 1993, 56% of unattached senior women (65+) had low incomes.

Diversity

In 1992, 51% of all people who immigrated to Canada were female.

In 1991, 92% of visible minority women resided in large urban areas (such as Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal).

Just over half (54%) of registered Indian women with North American Indian origins lived on reserves or Indian settlements in 1991.

Employment

In 1994, 52% of all women had paying jobs. As a result, women represented 45% of all workers.

In 1994, 69% of all part-time workers in Canada were women. 34% of these workers indicated they would prefer full-time work.

In 1993, women working full-time earned on average 70% of what their male counterparts earned.

In 1994, women made up 32% of all doctors and dentists, but only 19% of professionals in the natural sciences, engineering and mathematics.

Health

A female child born in 1991 can expect to live an average of 81 years, compared to 75 years for a male child (although this gap is closing).

Heart diseases and cancer are the leading causes of death among women, accounting for over half of all female deaths in 1992. Lung cancer death rates among women have risen 65% in the last decade.

Smoking among teenaged women has increased in recent years. Female smokers aged 15-19 jumped from 21% in 1990 to 29% in 1994.

As of December 1994, 65% of all adult women in Canada with AIDS were infected through unprotected sex with HIV-positive men.

Living Arrangements

The proportion of women who were spouses in a husband-wife family declined to 53% in 1991, while the share of women living in a common-law union rose to 7%.

In 1991, over 80% (786,000) of all single-parent families were headed by women.

As of March 1994, there were an estimated 126,000 family support orders in Ontario alone -- 76% of these were not in full compliance.

Violence Against Women

Acquaintances or relatives were responsible for 72% of the violent attacks committed against women, compared with 37% of violent attacks committed against men.(1993)

Women made up almost two-thirds (59%) of all homicide victims killed in a domestic relationship.(1993)

In 1993, 42% of women reported that they felt unsafe walking alone in their neighbourhood after dark, over four time the figure for men.