Question Period Note: Gender Equality in STEM, Skilled Trades, and Key Economic Sectors

Why do women and gender diverse people continue to be underrepresented in STEM and skilled trades, which leads to their exclusion from key sectors of the economy?

• Gender equality in science, technology, engineering, and math, as well as the skilled trades, is good for the economy and for Canadians. This is true now more than ever as we look towards economic recovery.
• The Government of Canada is making key investments in STEM sectors and creating high quality employment in well-paying fields.
• To support the entry and success of more women and underrepresented communities in STEM and the skilled trades, the Government of Canada has made a number of key investments, including:
o $470 million over three years to establish a new Apprenticeship Service to help first-year apprentices in construction and manufacturing trades connect with opportunities;
o $250 million over three years to upskill and redeploy workers in growing industries;
o $55 million over three years for a Community Workforce Development Program, dedicating 75% of project funding to support underrepresented groups; and
o $80 million over three years to help CanCode reach 3 million more students with its coding and digital skills training.
• Since November 2015, Women and Gender Equality has approved $15M in funding for projects to advance women’s participation in non-traditional fields where they are underrepresented, such as in STEM.

• Despite significant increases in women’s levels of education and labour market participation, the gender wage gap remains since other barriers prevent women from reaching their full economic potential. One of these is occupational segregation by gender. As a result, women are over-represented in low-paying and part-time occupations and underrepresented in full-time high-paying ones in STEM and skilled trades. Women’s jobs have also been hard hit by COVID-19. Women hold the majority of jobs in hospitality, retail and service industries – sectors first impacted by lockdown and physical distancing measures.
• In the 2021 Speech from the Throne, the Government focused on innovation and creating quality employment opportunities in the green economy, while also emphasizing that no worker or region will be left behind. This includes developing a National Adaptation Strategy.
• Additional Budget 2021 investments to support women’s participation in non-traditional fields, include:
o $708 million over five years to Mitacs to create at least 85,000 work-integrated learning placements. Mitacs is committed to improving diversity as an organization and among program participants. It has a strategy in place to improve equity and diversity, particularly among four underrepresented groups: women, visible minorities, people with disabilities, and Indigenous peoples.
o $21.3 million over five years and $4.3 million ongoing to continue the International Business Development Strategy for Clean Technology, including measures to support firms led by women, Indigenous persons, immigrants and newcomers.
o $443.8M over 10 years in support of the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy, a portion of which will be directed towards small and medium-sized enterprises led by women and visible minorities.
• These commitments build on the Government’s other efforts to advance women and gender equality in non-traditional fields, including:
o The Skilled Trades Awareness and Readiness Program, which encourages Canadians, particularly underrepresented groups, to explore and prepare for careers in skilled trades;
o Investments in the Social Science and Humanities Research Council, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to develop new plans to achieve greater diversity among research funding recipients;
o The Let’s Talk Science program to engage youth in hands-on STEM learning, including promoting STEM to girls and other underrepresented groups;
o An Apprenticeship Incentive Grant for Women in male-dominated Red Seal trades to support their training; and
o The Women in Construction Fund to provide coaching and tailored supports from training to finding and retaining jobs in the trades.
• Since November 2015, the Department for Women and Gender Equality, through its Women’s Program, has invested more than $15M in support of projects to advance women’s participation in non-traditional fields where they are underrepresented. For example:
o Women Building Futures led a project to improve the economic prosperity of Indigenous women by supporting their hiring and retention in non-traditional occupations in Alberta’s construction, maintenance, and oil and gas sectors.
o The Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta is working to increase women’s participation in STEM professions through consultations, an analysis on diversity and pay equity, and by developing and piloting a workplace culture policy.

None