Women represent an increasingly large proportion of the global workforce, though their participation varies significantly from country to country. Simple statistics on participation, however, mask major differences between men and women's labour force participation.
The different types of work that women and men perform give them access to different levels of income, job security, benefits such as health or employment insurance, collective bargaining or job training. However, according to the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-INSTRAW), women throughout the world have less of these benefits. Indeed, it is more difficult for them to access formal, regulated and paid employment within the traditional labour market. Women workers are a majority in the informal economy, part-time jobs, export-processing industries, domestic and care services, the sex sector and the lower levels of most traditional sectors such as health and education.
Women have become an integral part of the paid labour force, accounting for almost half of all individuals working for pay or profit. According to Statistics Canada, the increased participation of women in the paid work force has been one of the most significant social trends in Canada over the past quarter century. In 2004, 58% of all women aged 15 and over were part of the paid work force. As a result, women accounted for 47% of the employed workforce in 2004. Moreover, women generally have lower incomes than men. For example, in 2003, the average annual pre-tax income for women aged 15 and over from all sources was $24,400, just 62% of the figure for men.
(adapted from
Statistics Canada, visited 2006-09-11)
"In 2005, women made up approximately 40 per cent of the world's labour force."
(International Labour Organization (ILO),
Global Employment Trends, 2006, visited 2010-06-22)
