"I am not just a number; I am a human being, female, immigrant and African. I deserve and I am looking for meaningful employment and a good life in Canada....That is why I came to Canada and did not go to Greenland" (Niki).

Sample characteristics:

The statistical overview of African immigrant and refugee women's experiences with employment and training in the greater Toronto area presented below is based on data collected using The African Women's Questionnaire. In total, 188 women participated in the survey; 143 responded in English, 24 in Somali, and 21 in French. The statistical overview is presented in three sections: 1) Historical Background; 2) Current Location; 3) Occupational Groups. Data on the women's social characteristics when they arrived in Canada is included in Historical Background, social indicators reflecting the women's status at the time of the survey are presented in Current Location, and statistical profiles of women working in selected occupational groups presented in the section on Occupational Groups.

Data on the women's social backgrounds at the time they entered Canada is presented in this section (region of origin, age, educational and employment experiences, legal status at entry, market location, and information about their knowledge of the employment situation). This data permits understanding of the social capital or cultural and social attributes the women brought with them to Canada. Data on the region of Africa from which the women surveyed came is presented in Figure 5.1. Thirty-eight percent of the women were from anglophone West Africa, 27.7 percent from East Africa, and 22.9 percent from the Horn; women from South Africa are virtually unrepresented.

The ages of women surveyed are compared with that of "Single black African" women and all females in the Toronto 1991 Census Metropolitan Area (hereinafter referred to as the Toronto CMA) in Table 5.1. There are significant differences in the age characteristics of our survey sample and that of the total population of African women in the 1991 Toronto CMA. Compared to the total population of African women, women aged 15-24 and 25-34 are under-represented in our survey by 16 and 6 percent, respectively, while women in the age groups 35-44 and 35-44 are over-represented by 18 and 6.5 percent, respectively. Almost 75 percent of the women surveyed were between the ages of 25 and 44, when women are most likely to be in the labour force. Older women are barely represented; only one woman surveyed was age 55 or over. Note that the percentage of African females in the Toronto CMA under the age of 35 is greater than that in the general female population, while the percentage over 35 is less.

#Sources: Statistics Canada, special tabulation of "Single black African" in the 1991 Census, Toronto CMA. 1991 Census, Toronto CMA.

Figure 5.2 shows that a high number of well-educated African women participated in our survey. As already noted, 66.4 percent of the women surveyed came to Canada with post-secondary degrees from their countries of origin. Excluding women who indicated "other", several of whom had post-graduate degrees, 45.8 percent of the women (at a minimum), had post-secondary education by Canadian standards. This compares with 26.8 percent for the female African population (age 15 or over) in the Toronto CMA. The percentage of both male and female Africans 15 years or over whose highest level of schooling was less than grade 9 was smaller than that reported for the Toronto CMA, 7.6 percent compared to 11.2 percent respectively. However, a larger percentage of Africans than non-Africans between the ages of 15 and 24 in the Toronto CMA were not attending school -- 46.5 compared to 34.6. The percentage of Africans with university degrees in the 1991 Toronto CMA was 13.2 compared to 16.6 for the general population. Fewer women -- 32.2 percent of the total African population in the 1991 Toronto CMA -- have post-secondary degrees than men.

The marital status of the women surveyed is reported in Table 5.2. Fifty-eight percent were married, 25 percent had never been married, and 16.5 percent widowed, separated or divorced.

Source: Statistics Canada, special tabulation of "Single black African" in the Toronto CMA, 1991 Census; 1991 Census, Toronto CMA.

Single African women in Toronto are under-represented in our sample and married women over-represented by 15 percent. Moreover, the percentage of women in the sample who reported being separated, divorced or widowed is slightly higher than in the general African population. Collectively, the 115 women who reported having children (3/5's of the total sample), had 207 or more children under the age of 18. Twenty-nine had only one child. Note that the percentage of the total population under the age of 15 among Africans in the Toronto CMA in 1991 was 6 percent higher than that among the general population. Five percent of our respondents were never-married women with children, compared to 0.2 percent for the total population of African women over age 15 in the 1991 Toronto CMA.

Figure 5.3 shows that just under 15 percent of the women surveyed entered Canada as independent immigrants. One-third of the women entered Canada as refugees, but only 20 percent were refugees at the time of the survey. Slightly fewer women were sponsored to Canada than entered as refugees. Comparison of the entry status of the women surveyed with that of Africans to Canada in 1991 indicates that the percentage of women surveyed who entered Canada as refugees and in the family class are over-represented while those who entered as independent immigrants are under-represented. Just over 11 percent came as students or student's wives.

As indicated on Table 5.3, 70.2 percent of the women sponsored to Canada were sponsored by their husband or fiancé and 8.5 percent by their parents; 2.1 percent were sponsored by an employer. The reasons the women came to Canada are reported in Figure 5.4. Just under a third of the women surveyed (28.7 percent) reported that they came to Canada to join a husband

or their family, 20.2 percent for political reasons ("safety"), 13.3 percent to further their education, and 11.7 percent because of perceived economic opportunities.

More than half the women surveyed reported having worked in the informal sector in their country or origin. Of those who did not have work experience in their country of origin, two-thirds were between 15 and 24 years of age (see Appendix VII, Table 2).

The women were asked a number of questions about the information they had and/or were given about employment opportunities in Canada when they came. Table 5.3 shows that very few women, 16 percent of the total, reported having been given information about language and skills training or employment counselling services. Two-thirds of the women had permission to work when they came to Canada, yet only about 25 percent received useful information about how to meet Canadian employment standards. About one-third of all women surveyed indicated that they had heard employers preferred workers with Canadian experience; over 60 percent were not aware of discrimination on the basis of lack of Canadian experience.

Data presented in this section is relevant to understanding the location of the women surveyed in the complex system of cultural and social stratification existing in Metro Toronto at the time of the survey. The data permits comparison of the level at which the women in our sample have become incorporated into the labour market in comparison to all African and all non-African women.

Figure 5.6 shows that 8.5% of the women surveyed had been in Canada one year or less, 28 percent from one to three years, 30 percent from 4 to 6 years, and over 30 percent seven years or more. The 1991 census indicates that less than one percent of Africans in the Toronto CMA came before 1971; 13.4 percent came between 1971 and 1981, and 85.9 percent between 1981 and 1991 (see Table 3.3).

TABLE 5.5 -- EVALUATION OF KNOWLEDGE OF ENGLISH

At the time they participated in the survey, 35 percent of the women were citizens, 75 percent landed immigrants, and 8 percent possessed work permits; less than 3 percent were visitors. The percentage of women surveyed who were either landed immigrants or Canadian citizens corresponds closely to that reported for all Africans in the 1991 Toronto CMA (see Appendix VII, Table 3).

Figure 5.7 shows the level at which Canadian authorities evaluated the women's non-Canadian educational credentials. Of the 123 women whose diplomas and professional credentials

were evaluated in Canada, 60.1 percent reported that their documents were evaluated as less than the Canadian equivalent; 39 percent reported that their degrees and diplomas had been evaluated as equal to the Canadian equivalent. (Only one woman reported that her credentials were evaluated as more than the Canadian equivalent.) Almost 30 percent of the women whose credentials had been evaluated were of the opinion that the procedures used had not been fair. Some indicated, however, that they did not know what the criteria were which had been used to assess their credentials.

When asked to evaluate their knowledge of English (Table 5.5), 58 percent of the women indicated that they know English "very well", in comparison to 33 percent who indicated "moderately well" and twelve "not well at all". About two-thirds of the women indicated that they spoke English with an accent, while one-quarter indicated they did not (see Appendix VII, Table 4).

As Figure 5.7 indicates, though virtually half the women entered Canada with post-secondary degrees (by Canadian standards), only 5.9 percent first obtained high status jobs. One-third first worked in manufacturing ("other manual") and half in sales/service or clerical positions. Sixty percent of the 86 women who identified themselves as having worked in Canada found jobs within six months of arrival; 18.5 percent after being in Canada from 7 months to a year; 13 percent of those who had worked found jobs during their second year in Canada, while just under 5 percent looked for work for two years or more before finding employment (see Appendix VII, Table 5).

Over half the women (53.6 percent) found their jobs as a result of personal efforts; another quarter (24.5 percent) found them with the help of friends and/or relatives. When looking for work, a small percentage of women (5.5 percent) contacted Canadian Employment Centres or private employment agencies (5.5 percent). Only one woman obtained work as a result of contacting an immigrant women's or African agency; one woman found work through contact with a religious and/or charitable agency. Data on whether or not a woman had looked for, been interviewed for, and offered a job in Canada shows that for every 16 women that looked for work, 13 were interviewed and 10 hired. The percentage of women surveyed who held their first jobs less than 6 months, from 6 months to a year and from one to two years and over 5 years was roughly the same (27.8 percent, 28.7 percent, 24.3 percent and 19.2 percent, respectively -- see Appendix VII, Table 6).

The way the women got "Canadian experience" is reported in Figure 5.8: 41.1 percent worked legally, 22.3 percent did volunteer work, and 3.6 percent worked illegally. In about half the cases (49.5 percent), the women's first jobs included benefits. The women generally worked at their first Canadian job two years or less. Just under 20 percent of the women had worked at their first job for two or more years.

Sixty-three women reported that they experienced discrimination on their first job, while 37 reported they never experienced work-related discrimination. Figure 5.9 indicates the types of discrimination women reported as most frequent on their first jobs.

As indicated in Tables 5.6 and 5.7, the percentage women reporting they resigned from jobs (19.6 percent of the total surveyed) is roughly equal to that reporting they lost jobs (20.7). The fact that "business was slack" and "end of contract" were cited 23 times as reasons for job loss reveals the severe impact of the economic downturn on the labour market participation of the African women surveyed.

As indicated on Tables 5.8 and 5.9, over two-thirds of the women surveyed got additional training in Canada; 41.4 percent (N = 78) got language training (see Appendix VII, Tables 7 - 10) and 67.3 (N = 115) non-language training (on-the job, technical, academic, co-op and other (see Appendix VII, Table 11). Younger women were more likely to have gotten additional training than older women. Table 5.8 reveals that the higher the level of a woman's foreign education, the more likely she was to get non-language training in Canada. Most respondents -- 44.6 percent of the 121 women who answered the question on their Canadian training, had upgraded their academic qualifications: 6 women were enrolled in or had earned post-graduate degrees in Canada; 17 earned university degrees, 10 community college degrees; 7 high school degrees. Twenty respondents in total were enrolled in school at the time of the survey. With respect to technical education, 18 of the women surveyed had gotten training in computers and/or accounting. Training in daycare, hair dressing, sewing and as a travel agent was also popular. Note that almost 30 percent of the women reported having received on-the-job training. The fact that several respondents got more than one type of training complicates statistical description of their training patterns.

The correlation between Canadian training and employment by occupational sector is reported in Table 5.10. In all occupational categories, including, ironically, the unemployed, the numbers of women who had received training in Canada was higher than those who had not. The correlation between Canadian training and employment was especially high for women employed in the managerial, professional, service/high skill, and clerical sectors.

The women's occupational status at the time they were surveyed is compared to the occupational status they expected to attain when they entered Canada in Table 5.12. Just under half the women (48.4 percent) reported being employed at the time of the survey. The degree of correspondence between work expectations and actual status varies by occupational group. (Detailed information on the social characteristics of women employed in selected occupational categories is presented in the next section.) The correspondence between expectations and actual job status is particularly low for women who aspired to managerial or professional jobs, including those who were teachers or nurses in their country of origin. Among women working in clerical or sales jobs, factories, or as homemakers, however, the correspondence between anticipated and actual occupational status is relatively close. Women whose jobs did not correspond to their education and experience most often attributed this to "jobs not (being) available due to (the) recession" (20 of 36 women); 9 women indicated that their professional qualifications were not recognized in Canada. Only 3 indicated that they felt over-qualified for the jobs available to them.

The percentage of women surveyed employed in five key women's occupational categories is compared to that for all African and all women in the 1991 Toronto CMA in Table 5.13. The percentage of African women surveyed working in clerical occupations is slightly less than that among African women generally, which is marginally higher than that for the total female population. Ten percent more African than non-African women work in the service sector. The percentage of African and non-African women employed in sales is virtually the same, but the percentage of African women in education and teaching is lower than that among non-African women. The percentage of women surveyed working in service and sales occupations together is similar to that reported for the wider population of African women. The survey over-represents the percentage of African women employed in educational and medical fields in comparison to the total population of African women.

*Includes 12 women who identified themselves as self-employed. Most identified themselves as seamstresses or as providing catering services (see section on Self-employed Women below).

#Source: Ghalan, Nancy Z. 1993:4; Statistics Canada, special tabulation of "Single black African" in the Toronto CMA, 1991 Census; 1991 Census, Toronto CMA.

More women in our sample were working full-time (two-thirds), and less part-time (one-fourth), than among the general population of African women in Toronto (see Appendix VII, Table 12). Note that a greater percentage of women in our sample were self-employed than is reported among African women in the 1991 Toronto CMA. Ten of the 22 women working part-time indicated they would prefer full-time work.

Figure 5.10 shows that the unemployment rate among the women surveyed -- (28 percent) is slightly higher than that reported for African women over the age of 15, and 18 percent higher than that reported for the general population of women, in the 1991 Toronto CMA. The labour-force participation rate (workers employed full-time all-year) of African women with children in the Toronto CMA, and that of women without children (58.8 and 58.1 percent, respectively), is virtually the same. While the labour force participation rate of African women with children under aged 6 is 58.6 percent, however, their unemployment rate is 37.3 percent. This discrepancy shows that, though the labour-force participation rate for the general population of African and non-African women is the same, a large percentage of African women with small children who want to work are not doing so. The labour force participation rate among African women is virtually equal to that reported for all females in the Toronto CMA, but is almost twenty percent lower than that for African males. Survey respondents' labour force participation rate is ten percent lower than that reported for all African women in the Toronto CMA.

About half of the working women surveyed reported that they needed child care. Of these, 50 percent reported that their children went to day care; 12.5 percent indicated that they cared for their children themselves, 4 percent that their children were cared for by a friend or relative, while 25 percent reported that they had other arrangements. In several cases, husbands/fathers were caring for the children. Almost three-quarters of the women worked days; 4 women worked nights and 6 worked alternate day and night shifts. Thirteen women, 15 percent of those working, worked afternoon shifts. Two-thirds of the working women (65.4 percent) reported having been trained on the job, while one-third (34.4 percent) had not. The percentage of employed women who stated that their job corresponded "exactly", "somewhat", or "not at all" to their education and experience were equal (34.1 percent, 33.0 percent and 33.0 percent, respectively).

Data on the women's working conditions and work-place environments indicates that benefits were tied to the job for 29.3 percent of the working women and that 30.0 percent belonged to unions (Appendix VII, Table 13). About half the employed women felt their jobs were "repetitive" and/or "routine", over one-third that their jobs were "varied" and 7 percent "creative". The overwhelming majority of working women reported that their relationships with their co-workers were "pleasant" or "neither pleasant nor unpleasant"; only 2.1 percent indicated "unpleasant" relationships with co-workers.

Answers to 3 measures of job satisfaction were inconsistent. When asked whether they were satisfied with their employment status, seventy-five percent of the working women said "yes". When asked whether their job met their expectations, slightly fewer women -- 63 percent -- said yes. When asked whether they were satisfied with their job, about the same percentage of women said "yes" as said "no" (24.4 percent and 22.3 percent, respectively). Over 40 percent of working women felt they had little opportunity for job advancement at the time of the survey.

Figure 5.11 indicates a high degree of job dissatisfaction among the women surveyed. Over three-quarters reported their work expectations had not been met in Canada; 64.3 percent stated that overqualification was a barrier to getting a job; over one-third had looked for work in an area different from that in which they were trained. On the other hand, almost 70 percent reported that they had found the process of looking for a job in Canada inequitable, in contrast to just under 30 percent who had not.

Respondents generally agreed that African women face special problems getting employment in Canada, but opinion was divided about whether men enjoyed a relative advantage over women when getting work (see Appendix VII, Table 14). Women who believed that men enjoyed an advantage in the search for jobs indicated most frequently that this was due to the fact that "they do not have childcare and other household responsibilities" (47 responses), and "African women generally have less education than African men" (14 responses). The reasons women cited most frequently as special problems with respect to their getting work were "no network connections (58 responses), and Canadian's lack of understanding of African gender roles (21 responses -- see Appendix VII, Table 15).

The majority of women were cautiously optimistic about Canadians' future openness to themselves and their children with respect to employment.

Data on the composition of the households the women lived in at the time they were surveyed is presented in Table 5.14. Twenty-seven percent lived with their husband and two or more children, 15.4 percent with their husband and one child, and 15.4 percent with their husband only. Just under five percent reported living with a male companion/boyfriend. Seventeen percent lived alone, and 2.1 percent lived with their parents and siblings. While several respondents lived with siblings, siblings spouses and children, only 2.1 percent reported living in 3 generational families.

TABLE 5.14 -- HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION

*The 1991 Toronto CMA categories differ (Under $10,000 and $10,000 to $19,999). Source: Statistics Canada, special tabulation of "Single black African" in the Toronto CMA, 1991 Census, Toronto CMA.

The pattern of income per household the women reported at the time of the survey, reported in Table 5.15, is roughly consistent with respondents' occupational distribution. A larger percentage of respondents' reported income in the higher categories than did both African men and women in the Toronto CMA, but in the larger population of Africans in the 1991 Toronto CMA the percentage of women reporting low income is higher than the percentage of men.

The average full-time all-year income for African men and women and all men and women in the 1991 Toronto CMA is reported in Figure 5.12. Both African men's and women's average income were lower than that reported for the general population. On average, the income of African women in the Toronto CMA was 71.8 percent that of African men. The average income of all employed women in the 1991 Toronto CMA was 67.0 percent that reported for all men.

Statistical profiles of the women surveyed working in selected occupational groups are presented below (see Table 5.12). This data allows comparison of the women in each group on a number of variables, such as educational background, English language competence and degree of job satisfaction.

1. Highly Skilled and/or Professional women (doctors, nurses, teachers)

We present two statistical profiles of highly skilled professional African women in Canada -- Sample A and Sample B. Sample A consists of women who identified themselves as having exercised the profession of doctor, nurse, teacher, lawyer and engineer in their country of origin; Sample B is made up of women whose occupation in Canada at the time of the survey was classified as "Managerial or professional", "Teacher/nurse" or "Service -- high skill". A woman who exercised one of these professions in her country of origin but is not exercising that profession in Canada is included in Sample B only if she is in a "Service -- high skill" occupation (employment counsellor, financial analyst, community worker). Professional women who experienced a loss in occupational status in Canada are included in Sample A but not Sample B. Sample A includes 39 women, 20.7 percent of the total surveyed, who were trained professionally as teachers (22), nurses (7), doctors (5), lawyers (4), or engineers (1) outside Canada. All but seven of these women possessed post-secondary degrees plus varying years of professional experience before they came to Canada. The 28 women included in Sample B, 14.8 percent of the total sample, includes 5 teachers and 3 nurses accredited in Canada. It also includes 3 foreign-trained doctors, 1 foreign-trained lawyer and several foreign-trained teachers who are doing other types of work in Canada.

Data comparing professional African women's foreign-educational levels and their Canadian equivalents is presented in Tables 5.16 and 5.17. This data reveals that the university and/or "community college" (post-secondary, non-university) degree that several professional women earned in their country of origin or outside Canada was evaluated as less than the Canadian equivalent. At the time they were surveyed, none of the five African women who worked as doctors in their country of origin was practicing medicine in Canada. Two were public health administrators, one a community worker, and two unemployed (the latter had arrived in Canada in the last three years). "Frustrated and discouraged" by the Canadian requirements, one African-trained doctor passed the American Medical Association exams and was looking for an internship position at an American medical centre. She planned to return to Toronto to practice after demonstrating professional experience in the United States.

Three of the 4 nurses with post-secondary educational training when they came to Canada were employed, but two were working for agencies -- they did not have secure work. The third had just become licensed to practice in Ontario (see Chapter 6, Bamum). One of the three nurses with a secondary school certificate was upgrading, another a white collar worker and the third unemployed.

*Some women earned degrees in countries other than their country of origin (such as Italy and the United States) before coming to Canada.

Sample A -- Foreign-trained African Women Professionals

Table 5.18 compares the expected and actual occupational attainment of foreign-trained professionals in Sample A (N = 39). It shows that only 34.2 percent of these women were working in the managerial or professional occupations to which they aspired when they came to Canada; over a quarter were unemployed; 13.2 percent were students. We suggest that the others (28.7 percent) were under-employed. Just over 40 percent of these women entered Canada as refugees, a fifth as independent immigrants, 19.9 percent as students or student's wives, 12,8 percent were family sponsored and 7.7 percent came as visitors. Three-quarters of the women were married, a fifth had never married, and the remainder were widowed, separated or divorced. One-third (13 of 38) had attended language classes and two-thirds (24 of 36) had gotten additional training in Canada. While just under one-fourth of the employed professional women indicated they were satisfied with their work situation, more than two-thirds indicated that their work expectations had not been met in Canada. When Canadian regulations prevent full-time professional women from exercising their professions, it is little wonder that they become frustrated. Asked if she was satisfied with her present job, a Somali woman doctor employed as a community worker said, "No, it is not my profession".