The ACTEW Blog

Self-employment is one of the fastest growing areas of employment for women. One in ten Canadian women are entrepreneurs.

ACTEW’s newly released fact sheet on women and self-employment finds that while self-employment in general has been on the rise since the mid-1970s, the number of self-employed women has nearly tripled over the last 20 years, compared to a 60% increase for Canadian men.

Here are some general trends and quick facts on women’s self-employment:

• Rural women are more likely than urban women to be self-employed.
  
  
• Much of the growth in self-employment among women has been in traditional female dominated sectors such as child care and janitorial and cleaning work.
  
  
• Self-Employed women are often home-based and own account workers.
  
  
• About one-quarter of self-employed women work part-time.
  
  
• Self-employed women earn significantly less than self-employed men.
  
  
• The self-employed cannot access Employment Insurance (including maternity leave), and are much less likely to be able to access training programs.

Self-employment is an important employment option for women. When Canadian women were asked the main reasons they became self-employed, 85% stated that a desire for more challenging work was the most important factor in their decision. Women in rural areas, where employment is limited, are more likely than urban women to be self-employed. This form of work can sometimes offer a more flexible schedule, which is helpful for women who are looking for more life-work balance in their lives.

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