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Canada Undergraduate Degrees

The proportion of female to male students awarded undergraduate engineering degrees in Canada has been steadily increasing. In 2020, the total number of engineering degrees awarded totaled 18,185, with 22.8% of those degrees awarded to women. The total number of female students matriculating from undergraduate programs in 2020 has increased by approximately 45% compared to 2016.

Undergraduate degrees awarded by gender 2016-2020
Source: Engineers Canada. (2021). Canadian engineers for tomorrow: Trends in engineering enrolment and degrees awarded 2016-2020.

Women were well-represented in several disciplines, including biosystems engineering, geological engineering, and chemical engineering, where they comprised 50.5%, 44.8%, and 41.2% of the undergraduate degree holders in those disciplines. However, in 2020, female-identifying students represented a smaller proportion of students matriculating with undergraduate degrees in electrical engineering (15.6%), mechanical engineering (15.2%), and mining or mineral engineering (11.7 %).

Percentage of undergraduate degrees awarded to females by discipline 2020
Source: Engineers Canada. (2021). Canadian engineers for tomorrow: Trends in engineering enrolment and degrees awarded 2016-2020.

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