Adminstration Jobs for Women Increase Amongst Canadian Federal Workers

The latest profile of federal workers shows women have made important progress in the public service.

The proportion of women within the segment of the public service known as the "core public administration," or CPA increased steadily over the period studied -- 1995 and 2006 -- and since 1999, women have outnumbered men, Statistics Canada data released yesterday showed.

The study compared data from 1995 and 2006 to track employment trends in the federal public service and how workers compare to the rest of the country's workforce.

The report provides a profile of employees in CPA, which excludes members of the RCMP and Canadian Forces.

Last year, women accounted for 54 per cent of all CPA employees, but the numbers should be read with caution, said Ed Cashman, executive vice-president for the Ottawa region of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, one of the unions that represents federal employees.

"The truth is, if you go and look and see where women are employed in the federal public service, they are not where they should be," he said.

There are too many women in entry-level positions and not enough in high-level management jobs, Mr. Cashman said.