Educated aboriginal women have better employment outcomes than non-aboriginal women: study
Aboriginal women with a university degree have slightly better employment rates and make more money than non-aboriginal women with the same level of education, Statistics Canada reported Tuesday.
First Nations, Metis and Inuit women with a post-secondary certificate, diploma, or university degree were employed 81.8 per cent compared to 79.5 per cent of their non-aboriginal counterparts in 2011, according to the analysis of the 2011 National Household Survey and other sources. The findings include on-reserve First Nations populations and Inuit populations living in the Canadian Arctic.
Aboriginal women with post-secondary education earned more than three times as much ($49,947) as aboriginal women with no post-secondary qualifications ($15,208). And they made slightly more than non-aboriginal women ($47,742) with the same level of education.
“These results highlight the importance of education, especially as aboriginal women are generally less likely than non-aboriginal women to have a postsecondary qualification,” said the report by the federal data collection and analysis agency. “In general, Aboriginal women are also less likely to be employed than their non-Aboriginal counterparts.”
Only 51 per cent of aboriginal women aged 25 to 64 have a post-secondary diploma or degree compared to 65 per cent for non-aboriginal women.
Metis women are the most likely to have a postsecondary education (57 per cent), while only 47 per cent of First Nations women and 36 per cent of Inuit women complete postsecondary education.
However, the report also showed that more younger aboriginal women were getting an education compared to older aboriginal women.
Just over 35 per cent of aboriginal women without a postsecondary diploma have a job compared to over 46 per cent of non-aboriginal women.
Aboriginal women account for about four per cent of the female population in Canada.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Three northern groups share $1.5M Arctic Inspiration Prize, Eye on the Arctic
Finland: Sámi classes breathe new life into Finland’s rarest languages, Yle News
Sweden: New space incubators opened in Sweden, Radio Sweden
