Many in Canada share concerns about the current and future roles of women in computing, especially as these occupations increase in importance. As in many nations where computing and information technology are large industries, women in Canada have historically faced underrepresentation in education and industry. As a result, some Canadian women pursuing careers in these fields have had a lack of role models and faced sexism. There are many institutions and initiatives in Canada, however, which seek to increase representation for women in computing fields, as well as the fields of natural science and engineering in general.
Inequalities
In education
As is typical in North America, the enrollment of women in computing disciplines at the post-secondary level is significantly lower than the enrollment of males. According to Statistics Canada, in 2009, there were 33,219 students nationwide enrolled in "Mathematics, computer and information sciences" coursework, with only 9,075 of them being women (27%). This is significantly lower than 3 years earlier (2005/2006), when 37% of women did the same. The decline in the enrollment of women in computer science and related coursework is mirrored in the US.
Another summary published by Statistics Canada shows that this trend is not recent; between 1992 and 2007, the number of annual female university graduates in computer science has remained roughly constant (with a slight increase between 2000 and 2004), whereas the number of male graduates has increased approximately 50% (with the 2004 value almost double that of the 1992 value). Relatively speaking, there were about twice as many male graduates as females in 1992 and three times as many in 2007.
A study looking at enrollment based on program and gender was done at the University of Waterloo in 2010. At Waterloo, the percentage of the undergraduate population studying computer science that were women was only 11.5%, with a slight increase at the Master's (18.4%) and PhD (17.1%) levels. Waterloo, one of the only universities in Canada to have a higher percentage of male students than female students, is an extreme example, but the trend is constant across many computer science departments in the country.
In the workforce
As of 2011, the GDP of the Canadian Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) sector was $62.7 billion and grew at an annualized rate of 3.8% between 2002 and 2011. Meanwhile, the overall economy grew at an annualized rate of 1.9%, reflecting the relative importance of ICT sector in Canada. The percentage of women working in the industry mirrored that of the percentage of women receiving computing education. Statistics Canada reports that in 2012, there were approximately 1,299,300 people employed in the "Professional, scientific and technical services", of which 548,800 were women (42%). This category also includes those working in legal and accounting services (which are typically much more gender balanced), so the actual percentage working in the computing field is likely much lower than this.
Attempts to address inequalities
Although the reasons for the lack of participation of women are multifaceted and are not fully understood, it is accepted that they partly stem from the perceived image of the field, a lack of understanding of what work in the field consists of, and a lack of encouragement. Correspondingly, many institutions (both ones that are independently organized and ones that are funded by the Government of Canada through universities) have come into existence to inform and encourage potential computing students. In addition, many universities and other organizations offer gender-specific scholarships in attempts to increase enrollment numbers.
Institutions and organizations
Canada has several not-for-profit organizations dedicated to supporting women in computing disciplines.
Chic Geek is a Calgary-based not-for-profit which creates opportunities for women to explore their geeky sides, inspire one another, and build meaningful personal and professional relationships. They organize technical workshops for women and girls as well as networking events. Pixelles is a Montreal-based not-for-profit which hosts incubators and follow along programming to help women learn skills to develop video games. Dames Making Games is a Toronto-based not-for-profit which hosts workshops, "game jams" and social events to support women learning to create games.
Many Canadian universities also have resources designed for women in underrepresented disciplines such as computer science.