Today is International Women’s Day, so The Owl is presenting eight key things to know about women in the Alberta labour force. All statistics are for the year 2020 and the population aged 15 and over unless indicated otherwise.

• The participation rate is lower among women than men - The percentage of women participating in the labour force (i.e. working or actively looking for work) is 63 per cent compared to 74 per cent of men.
• The number of jobs held by women is lower than their share of the population - Women account for 50 per cent of the population, but only 46 per cent of workers.
• Part-time work is more common among women -  About a quarter (26 per cent) of women with jobs are employed part-time compared to 11 per cent of men with jobs.
• The unemployment rate among women tends to be a little lower than among men - Over the last 10 years, the unemployment rate among women averaged 6.4 per cent compared to 6.9 per cent for men. 
• Women are less likely than men to be self-employed - 14 per cent of working women are self-employed compared to 19 per cent of men. Women hold 38 per cent of all self-employed jobs.
• Women are less likely than men to work in the private sector - 58 per cent of working women have private sector jobs compared to 68 per cent of men. Women hold 42 per cent of all private sector jobs.
• Women are more likely than men to work in the public sector - 28 per cent of working women have public sector jobs compared to 13 per cent of men. Women hold 65 per cent of all public sector jobs.
• Women outnumber men in five sectors - 81 per cent of workers in the health care and social assistance sector are women; it’s 70 per cent for educational services; 64 per cent for finance and insurance; 57 per cent for accommodation and food services; and 51 per cent for retail. 

Answer to the previous trivia question: At 27 per cent of the total, Sri Lanka bought the most lentils (in dollar value terms) from Alberta in 2020.

Today’s trivia question: Who was the first woman to be elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta?