“High school is an important factor associated with labour force participation—more so than early motherhood”

By JANE GEORGE

More high school diplomas greatly improve the likelihood of young Inuit mothers being employed, according to a new report by Statistics Canada.

The study looked at early motherhood among off-reserve First Nations, Métis and Inuit women between the ages of 20 and 44.

Among young Inuit women, those who had at least a high school diploma and who became mothers in their teenage years (nearly one in five of all young Inuit women) had more than a two in three probability of being employed.

This likelihood was “significantly higher”—about double—than that of early mothers who did not complete high school, StatCan found.

The study found that about 40 per cent of early Inuit mothers had completed a high school diploma, compared with roughly 60 per cent of other Inuit women.

The StatCan study also found that just over half of early mothers were employed. “This percentage is significantly lower than the one for other mothers (64 per cent),” the study said.

Inuit women without a high school diploma and without children were also less likely to be employed than Inuit early mothers who completed high school.

The Inuit women who didn’t finish high school were almost half as likely to be employed than those who did.

StatCan said the results suggest that “completing high school is an important factor associated with labour force participation—more so than early motherhood.”

In fact, the study found that high school graduates who became mothers in their teenage years are just as likely to be employed as high school graduates who became mothers in later years.

This result is similar to the results of other studies based on the overall population.

For both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal women, having a first child as a teenager also significantly decreases the likelihood of having at least a high school diploma.

The proportion of women who earned a post-secondary certificate or diploma as well “varied significantly by motherhood status,” the study, based on the 2012 Aboriginal Peoples Survey, found.

For example, Inuit women who became mothers in later years were twice as likely to earn a post-secondary certificate or diploma.

Overall, the StatCan study found that Inuit, off-reserve First Nations and Métis women who were early mothers were less likely to have a high school diploma than those who became mothers later.

Inuit women residing in Inuit Nunangat also generally had a lower likelihood of having a high school diploma when other factors were taken into account.

The 2011 National Household Survey likewise showed rates of high school completion, or the equivalent, to be similarly low for Inuit and non-Aboriginal people living in Inuit Nunangat.

The study said this could indicate a lack of educational services or difficulties accessing a high school education.

Inuit women who did not know the education level of their parents were also less likely to have a high school diploma than those who did.

Getting below-average grades was also associated with a lower likelihood of completing high school. Other factors associated with a lower probability of completion included feeling unsafe at school and repeating a grade.

“Early motherhood among off-reserve First Nations, Métis and Inuit women” defined early mothers as women aged 20 to 44 who reported that they had become mothers before the age of 20.

Among women in this age group, 45 per cent of Inuit women, or four in 10, reported that they had become mothers before the age of 20, at rates nearly double that of off-reserve First Nations and Métis and five times higher than non-Aboriginal Canadians.

Inuit women aged 20 to 44 were generally much more likely to be mothers than non-Aboriginal women.

Combining women who became mothers as teenagers with women who became mothers in later years, the proportion of women aged 20 to 44 who were mothers was close to eight out of 10 among Inuit women.

By comparison, just over half of Canadian-born non-Aboriginal women in the same age group became mothers, the study noted.