The Women's Program

Did you know that October is Women's History Month in Canada?

Women's History Month represents an opportunity to highlight women's contributions and to recognize the achievements of diverse women as a vital part of our Canadian history. It also represents an opportunity to show how we all benefit from the efforts of our foremothers in our on-going quest for equality and represents an ideal opportunity to instill a sense of pride in our collective accomplishments.

This year's theme is “Aboriginal Women”.  We will be posting a series of fact sheets highlighting the realities of Aboriginal women as well as their contributions to their communities and families and the unique challenges they face.
The fact sheets will specifically look at:

• Violence Against Aboriginal Women: the fight-back
• Aboriginal Women: a reality check - Part 1
• Aboriginal Women: a reality check - Part 2

Aboriginal Women: a brief overview of a reality check

PART 1

This fact sheet is but a glimpse into parts of the reality of most Aboriginal women in Canada .  Sincere gratitude goes to the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) and Pauktuutit for their insights and research based upon which the following was compiled.

All statistics come from the Statistics Canada, 2005 report entitled: Women in Canada: a gender-based statistical report, 5th edition, unless otherwise specified.

The census gives us a lot of important numbers.  While there is much valid debate among Aboriginal peoples about their participation in the census, the numbers we do have serve to help confirm what many Aboriginal rights organizations and activists have been saying for decades.  The socio-economic situation of Aboriginal peoples and Aboriginal women in particular is linked to colonization and has reached a crisis level and must be addressed in a meaningful way and from a holistic approach.

Some numbers and trends:

The 2001 census shows that there were just under a half a million Aboriginal women in Canada.  Aboriginal women made up 3% of the total female population that year and the number is growing rapidly.

The statistics show that Aboriginal women in Canada tend to live with either their immediate or extended family and less likely than non-Aboriginal women to be living in husband-wife families.  Aboriginal women also tend to live in more urban and off-reserve areas areas.

Aboriginal women are also much more likely to be lone or single mothers. In 2001, 19% of Aboriginal women aged 15 and over were heading families – more than double the figure for non-Aboriginal women.

The results of the 2004 General Social Survey, among several other studies suggest that violence in marriages and common-law unions is a reality that too many Aboriginal women face.  Indeed, 24% of Aboriginal women, three times the figure among their non-Aboriginal counterparts, experience spousal violence from either a current or previous marital or common-law partner.

On the education front, there is a particularly large gap between the number of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal women with university degrees. At the same time, Aboriginal women are about as likely as other women to have a diploma or certificate from a community college.  On the other hand, the statistics also reveal that 4 in 10 Aboriginal women have not completed high school.

For the off-reserve Aboriginal population, the most common reason that young Aboriginal women aged 15 to 19 gave for leaving elementary or secondary school prior to completion was ‘pregnancy or the need to care for children.’

As with the rest of the population, a large proportion of Aboriginal women with jobs work part-time or part-year.  Aboriginal women are heavily concentrated in low-paying occupations traditionally held by women.  Of all Aboriginal women who were employed at some point in 2001, 60% worked either in sales or service or in business, finance or administration jobs.

Unemployment rates among Aboriginal women in the labour force are twice those of their non-Aboriginal counterparts. In 2001, 17% of Aboriginal women in the labour force were unemployed.  Among Aboriginal women, those living on reserves experience the highest unemployment rates. In 2001, 22% of female Aboriginal labour force participants living in reserve areas were unemployed.

As a result of the above, Aboriginal women also experience relatively high rates of low income. In 2000, 36% of all Aboriginal females were classified as living in a household with incomes below Statistics Canada’s Low Income Cut-offs (the poverty line). In 2000, the median income of Aboriginal women was $12,300.  In 2005, the average annual income was just over $13,000.

These statistics, and many like them which are used in governmental, non-governmental, and international reports about Aboriginal peoples in Canada, including those living on reserves, reveal that Aboriginal peoples, and women in particular, are among the poorest in this country and continue to face discrimination on the basis of their race, class and gender. We also know that Aboriginal women, living on and off reserve, are targets of discrimination, both by the broader society as well as in Aboriginal and reserve communities.

In Part 2, we will look at contributing factors to the socio-economic situation of Aboriginal women in Canada.