In 2022, women represented 37% of all Canadians who worked independently to operate a business or professional activities or who were unpaid family workers. This was up from 26% more than four decades earlier, in 1976. Nevertheless, employed women remain less likely than men to be self-employed; in 2022, 11% of employed women were their “own boss,” compared with 16% of employed men, according to a new report by Statistics Canada.
Andrea Piacquadio
“When it comes to the type of self-employed jobs women hold, little has changed in the last 30 years. In 2022, three of the five most common occupations held by self-employed women were identical to those in the late 1980s: retail and wholesale trade managers, early childhood educators and assistants, and hairstylists and barbers. In 2022, two occupations were more common than they were in the late 1980s: real-estate agents and salespersons along with light-duty cleaners,” said the report “Self-employment among women in Canada.”
“These findings suggest that there is not only stability in the type of self-employed jobs held by women, but also a continued gender-specific labour market segregation. In 2022, self-employed women remained overrepresented in female-dominated occupations, such as childcare providers. In comparison, self-employed men were most often in historically male-dominated occupations, with home building and renovation managers being the most common. Self-employed men also worked as managers in agriculture and as transport truck drivers more often than women.
“That said, there has been one notable shift in self-employment among women: the move away from unpaid family workers, where individuals work without pay on a farm or business owned or operated by a family member. In 1976, unpaid family workers accounted for 34% of self-employed women, dropping to around 10% in the late 1980s. In 2022, 1% of self-employed women were unpaid family workers, mirroring the historical lows seen by self-employed men. In 1976, 3% of self-employed men were unpaid family workers, and in 2022, this rate stood at less than 1%.”
The report said women are more likely than men to work independently without any paid employees. In 2022, 80% of self-employed women had no employees, compared with 68% of self-employed men.
“Self-employed women (34%) were also less likely than men (54%) to be incorporated. “Incorporated” people are entrepreneurs who own a separate entity, while “unincorporated” people are own account self-employed individuals,” added the report.
“However, the proportion of incorporated self-employed women has increased over time, especially among those without paid employees. The proportion of incorporated self-employed women without employees increased from 3% in 1976 to 19% in 2022.”
Statistics Canada said self-employment among women is trending older, intensifying the historical pattern of self-employment increasing with age. In 2022, 2% of women aged 15 to 24 years in the labour force were self-employed, down from 5% in 1976. Meanwhile, for women aged 55 years and older, the self-employment rate increased from 14% to 18% during this same period.
“Overall, data from the 2021 Census of Population suggest little difference between the self-employment rates of racialized women (10%) and non-racialized, non-Indigenous women (12%). However, differences emerge across racialized groups. Korean women had the highest self-employment rate, with one in five (20%) being self-employed, while Filipino women (5%) and Black women (6%) had notably lower self-employment rates,” it said.
“Self-employment rates also varied somewhat between Indigenous women (9%) and non-Indigenous women (12%). The self-employment rate among women stood at 7% for First Nations people living off reserve. The rate was 10% for Métis women. For Inuit women, the self-employment rate was 4%.”
Mario Toneguzzi
Mario Toneguzzi is Managing Editor of Canada’s Podcast. He has more than 40 years of experience as a daily newspaper writer, columnist, and editor. He was named in 2021 as one of the Top 10 Business Journalists in the World by PR News – the only Canadian to make the list
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