Working-age women who immigrated to Canada under economic programs in the decade that ended in the last year before the COVID-19 pandemic were more likely than their male counterparts to go onto graduate from Canadian colleges and universities, reports Statistics Canada.

“A higher proportion of women who were economic principal applicants completed a Canadian educational qualification than men, for all continents of birth,” notes the federal statistical and demographic services agency. 

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“The largest gap was among principal applicants born in Europe, where only 6.2 per cent of men completed a Canadian postsecondary educational qualification, while 19.9 per cent of women did so. This was followed by the Americas, where 20.8 per cent of men and 30.7 per cent of women completed a Canadian postsecondary educational qualification after admission to Canada.”

Women immigrants faced tougher time getting educational credential recognition

In Canadian Postsecondary Education And Labour Market Outcomes Of 2010 Economic Immigrants To Canada, Statistics Canada’s George Marshall and Eric Fecteau suggested Tuesday the reason these women are more likely to get college diplomas and university degrees after immigrating to Canada is the difficulties they face in getting their foreign educational credentials recognized in Canada.

 “This may be partly because immigrants from certain countries can experience difficulty in having their educational qualifications recognized in Canada,” the researchers suggested. 

“A study looking at immigrants of the early 2000s showed that immigrant women were significantly less likely to have their educational qualification recognized in Canada than men.”

In that previous study published in 2010, researchers found only 48 per cent of immigrant women had their work experience recognized by employers, work-related organizations or educational institutions compared to 56 per cent for immigrant men.

In the Statistics Canada report released Aug. 15, researchers reveal that those working-age economic immigrants who do get college diplomas or university degrees after immigrating to Canada are more  likely to be those who already had a university education prior to immigration.

“While 13.7 per cent of all principal applicants who were admitted to Canada in 2010 completed a Canadian postsecondary educational qualification between 2010 and 2019, this was more common among those who had higher educational attainment at admission, at 17.3 per cent, for those with a master’s degree or doctorate and 14.2 per cent for those with a bachelor’s degree than those with a non-university certificate or diploma, at 11.2 per cent,” the report states.

Canadian diplomas, degrees boost immigrants’ earning power

Going to a Canadian college or university to get a diploma or degree certainly seems to be a winning strategy for the immigrants who do so. 

The Statistics Canada researchers found that those immigrants who chose to go back to school, who were earning less on arrival than their counterparts who did not pursue further post-secondary education in Canada, caught up to them in earning power within a decade. 

“By 2019, those who had obtained a Canadian postsecondary educational qualification, earning between $47,700 and $67,600, caught up or surpassed the median employment income of those who had not obtained a Canadian postsecondary educational qualification, who were earning $45,200,” note the researchers.