Status of Women Committee on March 26th, 2015

[Mylène Freeman, NDP, Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC]

If we could have that data, that would be really useful as well.

There's one other thing I'd like to know. Do you have data around whether the women in STEM jobs are the primary or the secondary family earner, more proportionally? If that has an effect, it would be interesting to look at.

If you have any or all of that data and we can look at it, I think that would be helpful for the committee.

That's about it for me.

[The Chair, NDP, Hélène LeBlanc]

Thank you, Ms. Freeman.

It is now over to Ms. Truppe for five minutes.

[Susan Truppe, Conservative, London North Centre, ON]

Madam Chair, I'll be sharing my time with my colleague as well. I only have a couple of questions.

I don't know if I missed it or not, but is there data, when you're talking about the skilled trades and STEM, whether they're in it or not in it, that further defines the women in terms of religion or race? Would you know that?

[Alison Hale]

Yes. there is a lot of information in the NHS about religion as well as visible minority status that you could cross-classify. In applying some of the information, it might be better to produce some tabular rather than try to do....

I don't know how. I guess we could contact the researcher for the committee and talk in a bit more detail about some of the information we could provide.

[Susan Truppe, Conservative, London North Centre, ON]

Right. I think it would be interesting to know that as well, and know who is interested in STEM and who isn't interested.

In your reports, it was just the percentages of STEM and skilled trades, etc., not necessarily drilling down even further. That would be interesting too, to have those stats to see if there is a difference.

The types of questions on the survey, and we've talked about the fact that we probably need to update the survey at some point, in your opinion—and I know statisticians don't like to offer their opinion—based on your knowledge of the questions that are on it, is there anything you think that should be added to the next survey that might help increase girls entering skilled trades or STEM? I'm sure a lot of different questions are missing. You're the expert, and certainly I'm not. Even if I had the form in front of me I probably wouldn't know what the appropriate questions would be. Based on your years of experience, in your opinion is there anything you think should be added but is missing in there, just so it's in the report, that would help get more girls into the skilled trades?

[Alison Hale]

The issue isn't so much changing the existing sources of data. I think it's important to have those time slices that are consistent over time. It's what other information is missing that you'd like to have to complement the existing sources, which I guess would come back to the committee.

I can look at some of the information we have that's complementary. If you find there are areas you don't see, then you could say that you would like to have that information.

[Susan Truppe, Conservative, London North Centre, ON]

Thank you. That would be helpful.

I'll pass my time to my colleague, if he has a final question.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Macleod, AB]

Thank you.

[The Chair, NDP, Hélène LeBlanc]

You have two minutes.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Macleod, AB]

Thank you.

I want to go back to page 7 again, Ms. Hale. I want to make sure I'm clear on this. Again, it surprises me significantly that the unemployment rates are higher in either STEM and non-STEM for women.

Does the college diploma include, say, the skilled trades? I am thinking of electrical, construction. Or is the STEM more on the academic side, for lack of a better description? Do you know?

[Alison Hale]

This would be that they responded that their highest level of education is a college diploma or degree.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Macleod, AB]

Okay, it doesn't specifically say what—

[Alison Hale]

If they have a skilled trade or a registered apprenticeship, that wouldn't be included in there.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Macleod, AB]

Okay, so they're not very specific on what area their college diploma was in.

[Alison Hale]

They would have given that as a field, but that would be a separate question when they talk about this specific.... They basically have said that their highest level of education was a college diploma, certificate, or degree.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Macleod, AB]

I don't know if you can answer this one either, but just since we've had the Canadian apprenticeship grant and the Canada apprentice loan program in the last few years, is there any data that has correlated with an increase in women going into some of those trades? The reason the apprenticeship grant and loan were put in there was to allow people who were not completing their apprenticeship programs because they were paying a mortgage, taking care of family, forgoing wages to complete their apprenticeship...so we brought in that program.

Is there any data on whether that is correlating to an increase of people accessing some of these skilled trades?

[Alison Hale]

When did that program come into—

[John Barlow, Conservative, Macleod, AB]

The Canada apprentice loan program has been in place for a few years and the grant has been—

[Alison Hale]

There is an annual registered apprenticeship information system. We get data from that system, and you would have that coming in. That is separate from this, but it's administrative data that Statistics Canada has and produces information on—

[John Barlow, Conservative, Macleod, AB]

That would be available.

[Alison Hale]

Yes.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Macleod, AB]

Thank you.

[The Chair, NDP, Hélène LeBlanc]

Ms. Hale, thank you very much for your time. Thank you very much for the valuable information you have shared with us.

We will suspend the meeting to go in camera.

[Proceedings continue in camera]