For Women With Disabilities Numbers Tell a Story (Disability Issues)
If you are a woman with a disability living in Canada, you have lots of company –over 2.3 million people, in fact. You are a part of the 17.7 percent of women in the adult population who report, as Statistics Canada phrases it, an “activity limitation.” The comparable figure for men is 15.4 percent.* If you are a woman with a disability living in Canada, you may have a learning disability, a sensory- or mobility-related disability, a disability related to mental health, or a disability of another kind. It is possible that pain is a part of your daily reality. For working-age adults with disabilities, the most common activity limitations are pain and discomfort. These affect 74.4 percent of working-age adults with disabilities, and are more common for you than for your male counterpart who has a disability.
If you are a woman with a disability living in Canada, you may be one of the 24.8 percent to have a college diploma, or the 5.7 percent to have attained a bachelor’s degree. Your male counterpart will be less likely to have either (18.3 percent and 5.1 percent respectively), but will be more likely than you to have a trades or registered apprenticeship certificate (19.2 percent versus 10.8 percent). If you are a woman with a disability living in Canada, you are much less likely than your female counterpart without a disability to participate in the labour force (that is, to be working or looking for work), or to be employed. You are part of a group of women whose employment rate is 52.1 percent. Your next door neighbour without a disability is part of a group whose rate is 70.1 percent.
If you are a woman with a disability living in Canada, you might take part in volunteer or unpaid work. Working-age women are more likely to volunteer than working-age men, though among seniors the rate is the same. If you are a woman with a disability living in Canada, the phrase “living wage” is a highly theoretical notion. Your average salary is $24,720, while that of a man with a disability is $36,240. It will come as no surprise to you that your employment income is not only significantly less than that of a man with a disability, but that both of you earn significantly less than your respective counterparts without disabilities. You may, however, be surprised to learn that between 2001 and 2006, your average income increased by $1,010, while that of a man with a disability decreased by $890.
If you are a woman with a disability living in Canada, and you also happen to be a union member, you are part of a fortunate minority. Your employment income is still significantly less than that of your male counterpart with a disability − $35,677 versus $49,152. On the other hand, the non-unionized woman with a disability who works in the office across the street from you earns $21,983. She could use a union.
*All data are based on 2006 figures. Sources include: Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, “Advancing the Inclusion of People with Disabilities,” 2009, and other data from Statistics Canada’s Participation and Activity Limitation Survey, 2006.
