Thank you very much.
As you mentioned, I am the chief economist for Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters. Elise, in addition to being the director of government affairs at 3M Canada, is also a member of our national board and the chair of our women in manufacturing working group.
We are here today to talk about the need to improve female representation in the manufacturing workforce. Elise and I will be sharing our time.
Manufacturing is vital to the Canadian economy. It employs 1.7 million people, accounts for about 70% of our exports, and directly contributes 11% of our national GDP. When spinoff effects are included, close to 30% of all employment and all economic activity across the country relies on domestic manufacturing.
However, manufacturers face a number of challenges preventing them from realizing their full potential. Among them is that our members are struggling to find workers, especially in the skilled trades and in STEM fields: science, technology, engineering, and math. Addressing this issue is one of the top priorities of our Industrie 2030 national strategy to double manufacturing output and exports by the year 2030.
Attracting more women to manufacturing is the best way to solve this problem. Women hold 48% of all jobs across Canada, but only 28% of jobs in manufacturing. The situation is not improving. Female representation in the manufacturing workforce has been unchanged for about 30 years. This is not a situation that is unique to Canada; it's similar in advanced manufacturing countries all around the world. The gender imbalance in Canada is even greater in production-related jobs. Women hold less than 5% of jobs in the skilled trades, and less than one quarter of all jobs in STEM fields. These are exactly the occupations where manufacturers tell us their labour and skills shortages are most acute.
Through Elise's leadership, CME is undertaking a major initiative to address this problem. We released our first report about two weeks ago here in Ottawa. I am the author of that report, and Elise is leading the effort on implementation and next steps. We have brought copies of our summary report, if anybody is interested in picking one up at the end of the meeting. There is a longer version available online as well.
With the time that I have, I want to provide you with a brief overview of our key findings and then pass the floor to Elise to talk about the path forward.
At the outset, I want to say that our goal with this report was not just to increase labour supply for manufacturers, but also to open the door to new and exciting opportunities for women. Manufacturing has a lot to offer. Compared to the national average, manufacturing jobs tend to be more secure, are more likely to be full time, and pay better. Across Canada, average weekly earnings for women are about 76¢ on the dollar compared to those of men. In the skilled trades it's 82¢, and in STEM fields it's more than 86¢.
The report I have brought here today is focused on what women have to say. We conducted a survey in August and September asking women with first-hand experience in Canadian manufacturing a series of questions about their current work environment, the challenges and obstacles they face, and, most importantly, what they think needs to be done to attract more women to the sector. Our report and action plan were developed directly out of these survey findings.
The first and most important of these findings was that women in manufacturing like their jobs: 80% would consider remaining in the sector if they could start their careers all over again. The vast majority would support their daughters' pursuing a manufacturing career, and 91% thought that more women would be interested in manufacturing work if they saw what it actually looked like.
At the same time, women identified a number of specific obstacles that are contributing to the existing gender gap. There are three problem areas specific to the manufacturing workplace itself.
The first of these is sexism and a male-centric workplace culture. Many women, we found, are uncomfortable with the male-dominated work environment in manufacturing, and many feel they have to work harder than men to prove themselves. In fact, the gender gap in manufacturing may be, at least in part, a chicken-and-egg problem: women avoid careers in manufacturing because there are not enough women with careers in manufacturing.
The second is opportunities for promotion and advancement. We found that a significant number of women leave manufacturing jobs because they see few opportunities for career advancement. They also see women under-represented in executive leadership and feel that men have greater access to promotion opportunities.
Third is work-life balance. Women in manufacturing told us that they struggle to balance their work and family commitments. Many say that they have quit manufacturing jobs for this reason. Those with families fear that unavoidable commitments will hinder their career advancement.
Finally, there are two other issues that women told us need to be addressed. The first is that manufacturing continues to have a reputation problem. People cling to an outdated view of manufacturing work as being dark, dirty, and dangerous. Survey respondents told us that this perception causes women to overlook manufacturing opportunities. Second, women told us that the school system does not do enough to encourage young girls to pursue an education in STEM fields and the skilled trades. They believe that attracting more girls to these programs is critical to closing the gender gap in manufacturing.
With that overview, I'd like to turn the floor over to Elise.