International Women's Day: Experts mark progress, but women still earn less

As young female hockey players hit the ice this International Women’s Day, they’re not just inspired by the play of the Professional Women’s Hockey League, they also have something to shoot for.

“You’ve got a professional league where females are now able to make money, they’re able to play the sport they love on a bigger stage,” said Kendra Woodland, a goalie with the University of New Brunswick who’s preparing for the U Sports Women’s Hockey championship tournament later this month.

Assistant Coach Cassidy Hilworth played in the now-collapsed Canadian Women’s Hockey League. She predicts the PWHL will be different.

“They’re really putting the infrastructure in to make this league something that will last,” said Hilworth.

From hockey rinks to offices, women are striving for gender equality on an International Women’s Day. The United Nations’ theme for 2024 is “Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress.”

A report released this week from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce highlights how in 2023, Canadian women held nearly half the jobs but only made up 35 per cent of management positions and fewer than 25 per cent of boardroom seats. The report noted how female managers earned less than men: 88 cents to the dollar.

“Women in Canada face not one glass ceiling but several, and not one broken rung in the promotion ladder, but many,” said Marwa Abdou, the report’s lead author and Senior Research Director with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Business Data Lab.

“I’m lucky to work for a company that values females as much as they do males,” said Nadia Barry Fuglstad, a Financial Advisor with Edward Jones in Fredericton.

But when helping clients navigate their finances, from tax questions to estate planning, she sees the gaps in their savings.

“I really feel for single moms out there in particular, because if they are typically paid less then their male counterparts. Obviously, they’re struggling more with the cost of living,” she said.

Barry Fuglstad always advises younger clients to seek a raise during a performance review at work.

“If you don’t ask, you won’t receive. And the worst answer you can get is no,” she said.

Natalie Frederick-Wilson, a former entrepreneur, now advises female entrepreneurs through the Centre for Women in Business at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax.

“I understand the areas that women need support because I’ve needed them myself,” Frederick-Wilson said. “That could be in the form of strategic business advice, connection to resources, mentorship. It could be connecting with someone who knows about a specific industry.”

She said a lot of her work is centred around making sure people have the right information to make good decisions.

“That’s often the issue,” Frederick-Wilson said. “Most people know what they do, but they don’t know how to build a business around that.”

Jennifer Flanagan leads Actua, an education outreach organization focussed on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). She said Canadian women represent fewer than 25 per cent of people employed in those fields.

“That number alone is problematic. And then, when you look at higher levels within those fields in terms of leadership positions, women hold even fewer positions,” Flanagan said.

Her organization aims to inspire young girls and women to pursue careers in STEM and engage with them, as technology like Artificial Intelligence advances.

She says they do it “so they’re not left behind, so they’re participating in the design of these technologies. These are underpinning our life: how we work, how we play, how we learn.”