greater than the proportion of women with a bachelor’s degree or higher in 1991 (12.7%). “Women’s labour force participation massively increased in the decades before 1990, but since then it’s been increasing much slower,” he says. In 2021, female employees in Canada earned 11.1% less per hour than male employees; the gender-based wage gap decreased from 18.8% in 1998. According to Statistics Canada, the industrial distribution of women and men plays a key role in this gap, particularly the overrepresentation of men in the more highly paid industries of construction, manufacturing, mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction. Women’s higher rate of part-time work, which has lower average wages than full-time work, also contributes to the gap. The Near Future According to Statistics Canada, more Canadians held degrees in health care in 2021 than in 2016, but demand for health care workers remains high. The introduction of the Canadian Dental Care Plan will likely increase the number of people who receive dental care in Canada. “I expect there will be an increase in demand for dental services, and the workforce adjusts really slowly,” posits Dr. Sweetman. “In economics, when demand goes up and worker supply is more or less fixed, prices rise and hours of work increase.” When demand goes up, supply will eventually also rise, and the number of oral health care professionals will increase. “But there will be a lag of a few years because proper training takes time,” says Dr. Sweetman. Issues and People
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