Finding work in Canada that respects your skills, your schedule, and your career goals should not require guesswork or a dozen scattered job boards. WomenAtWork.ca was built to close that gap by connecting women across the country with employers who are actively looking to hire them. Whether you are stepping back into the workforce after time away, chasing a role in a skilled trade, or hiring for a federally regulated organization, this is where both sides of the market meet.
Quick Takeaways
- WomenAtWork.ca is a Canada-wide job board connecting women job seekers with employers across federally regulated, provincial, trades, and STEM sectors.
- Job seekers can browse open roles, filter by location and industry, and build a profile at WomenAtWork.ca for job seekers.
- Employers can post roles, reach a targeted candidate pool, and review pricing at WomenAtWork.ca for employers.
- The site signposts openings by province, so candidates can search close to home or plan a relocation.
- Federally regulated employers, which operate under the Employment Equity Act, are a core part of the postings on the site.
- Return-to-work roles and entry points into skilled trades and STEM fields sit alongside standard full-time postings.
What Is WomenAtWork.ca?
WomenAtWork.ca is a dedicated employment hub for the Canadian labour market, built around a simple idea: women looking for work and the employers who want to hire them should not have to sort through generic listings to find each other. The platform brings together postings from federally regulated employers, provincial and municipal organizations, and private-sector companies that are actively prioritizing women candidates.
A Two-Sided Canadian Job Board
The site works for two distinct audiences at once. Job seekers get a focused search experience with filters for location, industry, and role type, so a returning professional in Halifax and a trades apprentice in Calgary can each find postings relevant to them. Employers get access to a candidate pool that is already engaged and searching, which cuts down on the noise that comes with posting to a general-purpose job board.
Why a Women-Focused Board Matters
General job boards are not built around the specific barriers many women face in the Canadian labour market: gaps in employment history from caregiving, underrepresentation in trades and STEM roles, or uncertainty about how federal employment equity obligations affect hiring. WomenAtWork.ca addresses these directly by surfacing employers who are set up to support women through hiring, onboarding, and career growth, rather than leaving candidates to guess which companies are a good fit.
For Job Seekers: Finding the Right Role
If you are searching for work in Canada, WomenAtWork.ca is built to get you to relevant postings faster than a generic search. You can browse by industry, filter by province or city, and create a profile that employers can review directly.
Return-to-Work Opportunities
Many women leave the workforce for a period, whether for caregiving, health, education, or relocation, and re-entry can be one of the hardest parts of a career. The site highlights roles from employers who explicitly welcome returning candidates, including positions with flexible onboarding, mentorship support, or reduced emphasis on continuous, unbroken work history. If a gap on your resume has made you hesitant to apply elsewhere, these listings are a practical place to start.
Skilled Trades and STEM Pipelines
Women remain underrepresented in many skilled trades and STEM occupations across Canada, even as employers in construction, manufacturing, energy, and technology report ongoing demand for qualified workers. WomenAtWork.ca lists apprenticeship pathways, entry-level trades postings, and STEM roles from employers building more balanced teams, along with postings tied to recognized trades certification and training programs where employers have specified them.
Federally Regulated Employers
A portion of the Canadian workforce, roughly falling under federally regulated industries such as banking, telecommunications, and interprovincial transportation, operates under distinct employment equity obligations. Postings from these employers are represented on the site, giving job seekers visibility into organizations with formal, audited commitments to workplace diversity. You can review those postings and start an application at WomenAtWork.ca for job seekers.
For Employers: Reaching Qualified Women Candidates
Hiring managers and HR teams use WomenAtWork.ca to reach a candidate pool that general job boards do not effectively target. Instead of sorting through thousands of unrelated applications, employers post directly to an audience of engaged, actively searching women across Canada.
Employment Equity Act Compliance
Federally regulated employers, along with federal contractors bound by the Federal Contractors Program, have hiring and reporting obligations under the Employment Equity Act, which designates women as one of four groups the legislation is intended to support alongside Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, and members of visible minorities. Posting to a platform that reaches women candidates directly is a practical step toward meeting representation goals, not a substitute for a compliant hiring process, but a useful sourcing channel within one.
Posting Tools and Reach
Employers can create a job listing, specify location and role details, and reach candidates browsing by province or industry. Because the audience is self-selected, postings tend to draw applicants who are specifically looking for opportunities aligned with the platform's focus, which can reduce time spent screening unrelated applications.
Building a Stronger Talent Pipeline
Organizations that hire consistently through a women-focused channel often see downstream benefits beyond a single open role: a more diverse leadership pipeline, stronger retention in historically male-dominated departments, and a reputation that helps with future recruiting. Employers can review current pricing and post their first role at WomenAtWork.ca for employers.
The Employment Equity Act and Canadian Hiring
Understanding the basic shape of this legislation helps both job seekers and employers make sense of why some postings look different from a typical listing.
Who the Act Covers
The Employment Equity Act applies to federally regulated private-sector employers with 100 or more employees, as well as federal public service organizations and companies bound by the Federal Contractors Program when bidding on federal contracts above a set value. It does not apply to every employer in Canada, which is why postings on the site span both federally regulated organizations and provincially regulated employers who choose to prioritize women candidates voluntarily.
What It Means Day to Day
In practice, covered employers are required to identify and remove barriers in hiring, promotion, and retention for designated groups, and to report on workforce representation. For job seekers, this can translate into more structured hiring processes, defined career progression, and workplace policies aimed at closing representation gaps. For employers, it means sourcing channels like WomenAtWork.ca can be part of a documented, good-faith effort to reach underrepresented candidates. This is general background, not legal guidance, and employers with specific compliance questions should consult qualified counsel or Employment and Social Development Canada resources.
Explore Opportunities by Province
Canada's labour market varies significantly by region, and WomenAtWork.ca is organized to reflect that.
Ontario and Quebec
As the country's two most populous provinces, Ontario and Quebec carry a large share of postings across finance, technology, manufacturing, and public sector roles, with major hubs in Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal drawing consistent demand.
British Columbia and the Prairies
British Columbia's listings often lean toward technology, natural resources, and public administration, while Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba postings frequently include energy, agriculture, and skilled trades roles tied to regional industry.
Atlantic Canada
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador round out the provincial coverage, with postings weighted toward healthcare, public service, and growing small-business sectors in these regions.
Trades and STEM Careers Worth Watching
Two areas consistently draw interest from both job seekers and employers using the platform: skilled trades and STEM.
In-Demand Skilled Trades
Electricians, welders, heavy equipment operators, and construction supervisors are among the trades where employers report ongoing hiring needs. Many of these roles include structured apprenticeship pathways, and WomenAtWork.ca surfaces postings from employers offering mentorship or dedicated onboarding support for women entering trades for the first time.
Growing STEM Fields
Software development, data analysis, engineering, and health technology roles appear regularly among employer postings, often from organizations with formal diversity hiring initiatives. For candidates transitioning into STEM from another field, these listings frequently note whether prior direct experience is required or whether transferable skills and training are considered.
FAQ
Is WomenAtWork.ca only for women in specific industries?
No. The platform lists roles across a wide range of sectors, including federally regulated industries, skilled trades, STEM, healthcare, public service, and general professional roles. The common thread is that listed employers are actively seeking women candidates.
Do I need direct experience to apply for trades or STEM roles listed on the site?
It depends on the individual posting. Some employers require certification or direct experience, while others list entry-level or apprenticeship positions designed for candidates transitioning from another career. Each posting specifies its requirements.
How do employers know if they fall under the Employment Equity Act?
Generally, it applies to federally regulated private-sector employers with 100 or more employees and to companies under the Federal Contractors Program. Employers unsure of their status should confirm with Employment and Social Development Canada or legal counsel rather than relying solely on general background like this.
Is there a cost for job seekers to use WomenAtWork.ca?
Job seekers can browse postings and create a profile at WomenAtWork.ca for job seekers. Employer pricing for posting roles is available at WomenAtWork.ca for employers.
Can I search for roles in a specific province or city?
Yes. Listings can be filtered by location, so candidates can search close to home or explore opportunities in another province if they are open to relocating.
What if I am returning to work after several years away?
Return-to-work roles are a specific focus area on the platform, with postings from employers who welcome candidates with employment gaps and often provide additional onboarding support.
Whether you are hiring or job hunting, WomenAtWork.ca serves both sides of the market. Employers can review pricing and post a role at https://womenatwork.ca/employers. Job seekers can browse openings and create a profile at https://womenatwork.ca/job-seekers.