March 8th is International Women’s Day! We would like to look at some recent developments of women in the workplace (our own head office consists of 75% female employees, including top leadership positions)! While there are many more strides to be made – it’s great to see gender equality taking shape over time:

• women were 47.3% of the total labour force in 2016 (compared to 37.1% in 1976) [Source]
• between 1976 and 2007 employment for mothers with children under 6 years old more than doubled from 31.5% to 68.1% [Source]
• by 2012, college attendance went up to 71% for women (while staying stagnant at 61% for men) [Source]
• Women in executive roles earn 72.3% of what men in the same position earn [Source]
• 15.6% of SMBs are majority owned by women, and 19.7% are equally owned by women and men [Source]
• in 2015, Prime Minister Trudeau named 15 women and 15 men to his cabinet, marking the first ever gender-balanced cabinet in Canadian history! [Source]

These are just some of the stats that show the progress we’re making in having equality at the workplace. While not perfect it does show change towards the positive! If you’re looking for more resources, tools and articles on the gender gap in the workplace check out World Economic Forum’s Women & Work section.