Women with doctorates in science or engineering face a wage gap compared to their male peers, a new study says.
However, the gap is more narrow than the general workforce.
In its , Statistics Canada found that according to data in the 2001 Census, a female doctorate holder earned 77 cents for every dollar a male doctorate holder earned.
Women earn 71 cents for every dollar earned by men in the general workforce.
The study covered people who held a doctorate in agricultural, biological or veterinary sciences, engineering or applied sciences, health sciences, or mathematics, computer or physical sciences.
An average scientist or engineer with a PhD earns about $70,000, which is nearly twice the average of $36,000 for full-time Canadian workers in 2000.
The private sector paid much more than its public counterpart for the talents of young Canadian scientists and engineers with PhDs.
For older PhD holders, the public-private wage gap narrowed, with some public sector types out-earning their private sector counterparts.
Employed PhD holders in 2001 were older than the average Canadian worker.
There were about 100,000 employed PhD holders, with an average age of 48. Science and engineering PhD holders -- who number about 57,000 -- were slightly younger, with an average of 46.
The average age of the 15 million employed Canadian workers was under 39 in 2001.
About 80 per cent of science and engineering PhD holders in the 2001 Census were men. Women accounted for 47 per cent of the workforce and 57 per cent of those in the workforce with university degrees.
One's chances of bumping into a PhD holder on the street are markedly better in major cities. Only one employed PhD holder in 10 lives in a rural area.
Kingston, Ont., home to Queen's University and the Royal Military College, has the highest concentration of PhD holders in Canada.
But the best-paid PhD holders, once adjustments are made for age and gender, live in Vancouver. Edmonton has the most poorly paid PhD holders, followed by Montreal and Quebec City.
