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Underrepresentation of Women in Canada‘s Information and Communication Technology Sector: What Can We Learn from a Canadian Survey of Adult Skills?

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  • Richard E. Mueller
  • N.T. Khuong Truong
  • Wynonna Smoke

Abstract

The proportion of women in Canada‘s information and communication technology (ICT) sector is well below their proportion in other fields. One hypothesis for this phenomenon is that women may not have the “right stuff” to be heavily involved in ICT. We use basic ICT scores derived from Statistic&squo;s Canada&squo;s 2012 Survey of Adult Skills, which is the Canadian portion of the 2012 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies as a proxy for the “right stuff.” We find that, after controlling for appropriate covariates, Canadian women score higher than men on basic ICT skills. However, women with the same ICT test scores are much less likely than men to be employed in ICT occupations. We also find that hourly wages in ICT occupations are lower for women, but this wage gap is no greater than that in the general labour market. Given the current and projected shortages of ICT professionals, women represent a large, yet untapped, pool of talent for this sector.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard E. Mueller & N.T. Khuong Truong & Wynonna Smoke, 2018. "Underrepresentation of Women in Canada‘s Information and Communication Technology Sector: What Can We Learn from a Canadian Survey of Adult Skills?," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 44(S1), pages 73-90, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpp:issued:v:44:y:2018:i:s1:p:s73-s90
    DOI: 10.3138/cpp.2017-073
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    Cited by:

    1. Richard E. Mueller, 2019. "Public Sector Wages In Alberta: How Do These Compare To Other Provinces And To The Private Sector?," SPP Research Papers, The School of Public Policy, University of Calgary, vol. 12(34), October.

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