Thank you so much to all of our witnesses today.
This is a fascinating time. I'm happy that we're doing this today because I am mentoring two young women who are with us today from the Boys and Girls Club. They are getting an opportunity to hear from some women with really great ideas.
I'm a huge advocate for education. I think I rival Wai because I had my own two kids when I went to university, and three nieces and nephews lived with my husband and me while pursuing their degrees.
Ms. McDonald, I'd like to first talk to you, and then go to Ms. Archer in Edmonton.
I wonder if we're fighting the last war a bit. We all want to get our kids, our girls, to university, and now we're seeing that more girls than boys are graduating in many cases.
The Financial Post had an interesting story last summer. It said that people who go to university now are earning less than they did before, that those numbers are declining, especially in the fine arts, where graduates are earning 12% less than high school graduates once they factor in the cost of their education. It speaks to Ms. Roy's point.
I wonder if we are overbalanced now in people going to university, and especially taking humanities. We've heard from Ms. Archer that women are making $60,000, $80,000, or $100,000 in skilled trades. We perhaps have to start refocusing where we're sending our girls, especially when college graduates are now inching up to higher paying jobs than university graduates.
I hope I can address that to you Ms. McDonald, and then go to Ms. Archer.