Women are still underrepresented in Canada’s technology sector, while the COVID-19 pandemic has affected vacation time and wages across the board, according to Humi’s 2020 Canadian HR Benchmark report.
The report states that women comprise only 30 percent of the nation’s technology workforce. A separate report from the Brookfield Institute released in January of 2019, indicated that only 20 percent of the Canadian tech workforce was female; Humi’s report suggests an increase since that time.
“COVID-19 has brought on drastic changes for Canadian businesses and employees.”
Humi’s report specifically notes a correlation between women in C-Suite positions and overall gender balance in the workforce. According to Humi, only 21 percent of Canadian companies feature women in C-Suite roles. When women are in those positions, however, 47 percent on average of a company’s workforce is female, while only 39 percent when the C-Suite is entirely male. Humi notes that employers need to prepare for a change in workplace demographics and embrace policies that support the creation of a balanced workforce, particularly in the face of a pandemic.
According to Humi’s report, COVID-19 has also affected employee time off, as Canadians requested 40 percent less vacation time in 2020 compared to 2019. The average salary in Canada also dropped 4.5 percent during the pandemic, falling from $61,212 in January to $58,428 in July.
Humi provided three tips for employers related to time-off, including communicating a company’s policies well in advance of year-end, proactively managing employee vacation requests and enforcing vacation if needed, and adopting a tool that enables employees to manage requests online.
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“COVID-19 has brought on drastic changes for Canadian businesses and employees,” said Andrea Bartlett, HR director at Humi. “In order to adapt to the change and stay connected with teams, it’s crucial that businesses and leaders alike are prepared with the proper workplace policies, paired with digital HR tools, to support the workforce during the pandemic and beyond.”
The report also looked at employee retention and found that Generation Z spent 15 percent less time in a role than Millennials. Humi states this points to younger generations wanting more experience than tenure in their employment.
The report compiled data from over 1,000 small and medium businesses and was pulled between January and October, 2020.
Image source Humi via Facebook