A Commitment to Training and Employment for Women (ACTEW) has recently published a factsheet on Self-Employed women in Canada. This fact sheet highlights the fast growing number of women turning to self-employment, their contributions to the Canadian Economy, and the difficulties many of these women face as women entrepreneurs.

Brief overview of factsheet:

In Canada today, approximately 1 in 10 Canadian women are self-employed, an increase of almost 300% since1981. As owners of 45% of Canadian small and medium enterprises, women entrepreneurs contribute more than $18.109 billion to the Canadian economy each year. Despite the contributions they make to the Canadian economy, women entrepreneurs face many difficulties, more so then self-employed men. In 2000, approximately 7.5% of self-employed men were working part-time, compared to 23% of self-employed women. These women also earn significantly less than their male counterparts. Only 17% of self-employed women make more than $30,000 a year, compared with 42% of men.

Additionally, in most provinces and territories, the majority of self-employed Canadians do not qualify for government benefits and insurance programs such as disability, maternity/parental leave, employment insurance and pension programs. Working part-time, low earnings, and ineligibility to government benefits and insurance programs, make self-employed women financially insecure, and extremely vulnerable to earnings interruptions due to family or personal illness, following childbirth or adoption.

To download the factsheet and to learn more about ACTEW, please visit their website at:
http://www.actew.org/projects/pwpsite/snapshots/selfemploy.html