Income

This section examines women's incomes as part of economic family income, census family income, as well as by income composition. Furthermore, it explores how income is impacted by age and education.

Figure 6-1 shows total individual income groups for women with an income. The percentage of women without income ranges from a low of 8% for on-reserve Registered Indian women to a high of 13% for Inuit women. The overall pattern for women's incomes was the same across all groups. At least two-thirds of women reported earning a total individual income less than $20,000 per year. More non-Aboriginal women reported income in the higher ranges than Aboriginal women. For example, 3.8% of non-Aboriginal compared to 1.6% of Aboriginal women earned a total individual income greater than $55,000.

While much can be gleaned from income statistics, it is also informative to look behind the numbers and look at the sources of that income. The variable income composition, Figure 6-2, shows the percentage of total income supplied by employment income, government transfer payments, and other income. Government transfer income includes all social net transfers, such as pension, employment insurance, child tax benefits, and other income from government sources. Other income refers to income from investments and other sources (i.e. inheritance, retirement pensions).

For each ethnic designation, men tended to gain more of their income through employment than women. Women tended to gain a greater percentage of their income through government transfer payments than men. Perhaps this is related to the prevalence of female lone parent families, likely to be highly dependent on government transfers.

Figure 6-2 indicates Registered Indian women living on reserve earned 59% of their total income from employment. Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal women both earned 70% from employment. The non-Aboriginal population, both male and female, reported at least double the "other income" compared to Aboriginal groups.

Table 6-1: Average Individual Income (1995 $) by Age Group, Females 15+, 1995

Table 6-1 shows average individual income for women aged 15 and over by ethnic designation and by age group. Income for those aged 15-24 was the lowest. Income rises age increases to a peak in the range of 35-54 years old, and then descending again as women move into retirement. The average individual income for Aboriginal women was $14,640. This compares with $19,372 for non-Aboriginal women. Average individual income for on-reserve Registered Indian women was consistently lower over the life cycle than that for off-reserve Registered Indian women. On-reserve, average individual income for women peaked across age groups at $15,965 for those 35-44 years old, while it reached a high of $18,131 off reserves for those 45-54 years old. When the impact of education on individual income is examined (Table 6-2), a positive correlation across all ethnic designations is revealed. According to the 1996 Census, all Canadian women with a university degree had a higher average individual income than those with high school education alone. For Registered Indian women, the difference amounted to a $10,000 increase in average annual income. Among non-Aboriginal women, the difference was slightly higher, with a $12,000 gap. For Inuit women with university as their highest level of schooling, average income was almost $14,000 greater than that of women with less than grade nine level of education. At each level of schooling, non-Aboriginal women experienced a higher average individual income than Aboriginal women.

Table 6-2: Average Individual Income (1995 $) by Highest Level of Schooling, Females 15+, 1995

The pattern for average individual income by highest level of schooling for Registered Indian women did not vary greatly on and off reserves. Incomes for women with less than grade nine and grade 9 -13 levels of education were approximately $1-2000 less for the on-reserve segment than the off-reserve population. One reason for this difference may be the lack of certain types of jobs on reserves, jobs that people with lower levels of schooling tend to occupy (i.e. factory, apprenticeship). There was little difference between the average individual income reported on and off reserves for women with post-secondary education.

Figure 6-3: Census Families (%) by Census Family Income Groups (1995 $), 1995

Since many women have family members who also receive income and contribute to the family, it can be helpful to look at family income. A census family refers to a now-married couple (with or without never-married children of either or both spouses), a couple living common-law (with or without never-married children of either or both partners), or a lone parent of any marital status (with at least one never married child living in the same dwelling). Other women may be part of an economic family, which refers to a group of two or more persons who live in the same dwelling and are related to each other by blood, marriage, common-law, or adoption.Figures 6-3 and 6-4 reveal that the pattern of family income groups does not greatly differ between economic and census families. One difference worth noting, however, is that on-reserve Registered Indian census families have a greater percentage of families with an income less than $20,000 (43%, Figure 6-4) than on-reserve Registered Indian economic families (37%, Figure 6-3). Overall, Aboriginal economic families reported a slightly higher percentage of families with income in the higher range than Aboriginal census families.

Figure 6-4: Economic Families (%) by Economic Family Income Groups (1995 $), 1995

Of those economic families with income, families of Registered Indians, whether living on or off reserves, had the highest percentage of incomes below $20,000. The percentage of families reporting an income in the range of $20,000-$29,000 did not vary too much by ethnic designation, although on-reserve Registered Indians again reported highest in this category. Fifty percent of economic families reported an income above $40,000 for the Métis, Other Aboriginal, and non-Aboriginal populations. Economic families reporting an income of $70,000 or over accounted for only 7% of on-reserve Registered Indian families. In contrast, families in this same income group accounted for 23% of Other Aboriginal families and 28% of non-Aboriginal families.

The considerable differences between women's individual incomes and the incomes of their census or economic families provide insight into the respective earnings of family members. In order for the family income to be greater, there must be support from other family members. Dual income families raise the average income for their families, providing an advantage over lone parent families. Other differences could result from women working part-time to balance child care, or a gap in wages and salaries for men and women.

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