If you searched for women at work canada, you likely landed here for one of two reasons: you are looking for a job that fits your skills and your next career step, or you are an employer trying to reach qualified women candidates across the country. WomenAtWork.ca was built to serve both sides of that search, in one place.
This guide explains what WomenAtWork.ca actually does, who it is for, and how to use it whether you are hunting for your next role or trying to fill one.
Quick takeaways
- WomenAtWork.ca is a Canadian job board focused on connecting women with employers across federally regulated sectors, provincial workplaces, trades, and STEM fields.
- Job seekers can browse postings, filter by province and sector, and build a profile that employers can find.
- Employers can post roles, review candidate profiles, and signal their commitment to hiring and retaining women, including compliance-relevant details tied to the Employment Equity Act.
- The site includes return-to-work postings for women re-entering the labour market after parental leave or a career pause.
- Trades and STEM postings are highlighted separately, since these sectors have historically had lower representation of women and often need more visible outreach.
What Is WomenAtWork.ca?
WomenAtWork.ca is a job board built specifically around the Canadian labour market, with a focus on connecting women to employers who are actively hiring, and connecting employers to a pool of women candidates across experience levels and sectors. It is not a general classifieds site with a women's category bolted on. Every part of the platform, from how postings are categorized to how employer profiles are structured, is designed around this specific match.
Built for Job Seekers
If you are looking for work, WomenAtWork.ca gives you a way to search postings by province, sector, and role type, and to build a profile that hiring teams can review directly. That includes entry-level and experienced roles, part-time and full-time postings, and a dedicated section for return-to-work opportunities. You can find the full job seeker experience, including how to set up a profile and set job alerts, at WomenAtWork.ca for job seekers.
Built for Employers
If you are hiring, the platform lets you post roles, describe your workplace policies (flexible scheduling, parental leave top-ups, mentorship programs), and reach candidates who are specifically looking for employers with those commitments. Employers also get access to reporting and sourcing tools that make it easier to document outreach efforts. Pricing, posting options, and account setup are covered at WomenAtWork.ca for employers.
Federally Regulated Employers and the Employment Equity Act
A large share of the postings on WomenAtWork.ca come from federally regulated employers: banks, telecommunications companies, airlines, interprovincial transportation firms, and Crown corporations, among others. These employers operate under the Employment Equity Act, which requires them to identify and remove barriers to employment for designated groups, including women, and to report on their workforce representation.
Why This Matters for Job Seekers
Federally regulated employers tend to have more formalized hiring processes, published diversity commitments, and structured career ladders. If you are early in your career or returning to work after a gap, these employers often have clearer paths for growth and more documented policies around parental leave, flexible work, and internal promotion. WomenAtWork.ca flags these postings so you can find them without having to research each employer's regulatory status yourself.
Why This Matters for Employers
If your organization falls under the Employment Equity Act, demonstrating active outreach to women candidates is part of meeting your reporting obligations. Posting on a platform built around this audience, and being able to show that outreach in your compliance documentation, is a practical way to support that requirement. This is a sourcing and outreach tool, not a substitute for legal advice on your specific obligations, so employers should still confirm requirements with their own compliance or legal team.
Return-to-Work Roles for Women Rebuilding a Career
One of the most requested categories on WomenAtWork.ca is return-to-work postings: roles specifically designed for candidates who have taken time away from paid work, whether for parental leave, caregiving, illness, or another life event.
What Makes a Posting "Return-to-Work"
These postings typically come from employers who have built in extra onboarding time, mentorship, or refresher training to help candidates get back up to speed. Some are formal "returnship" programs, similar in structure to an internship but aimed at experienced professionals rather than new graduates. Others are simply standard roles where the employer has explicitly said they welcome candidates with employment gaps.
How to Search for Them
On the job seeker side, you can filter directly for return-to-work postings rather than scanning every listing to guess which employers are open to a gap in your resume. This saves time and reduces the guesswork that often discourages women from applying after time away from paid work.
Trades and STEM Pipelines for Women
Women remain underrepresented in many skilled trades and in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) roles across Canada. WomenAtWork.ca includes a dedicated pipeline for these sectors, covering apprenticeships, technical certifications, and entry points into fields like construction, electrical work, manufacturing, engineering, and information technology.
For Job Seekers Considering a Trade or Technical Path
If you are exploring a trade or technical career, the postings in this section often come from employers or training programs that have specific outreach initiatives for women, including apprenticeship sponsorships and mentorship pairings. This section exists because women considering these paths often report not knowing where to start, more than a lack of interest in the work itself.
For Employers in Trades and STEM
If your organization is trying to diversify its trades or technical workforce, this is where WomenAtWork.ca can help you reach candidates who are specifically looking for entry points into these fields, rather than competing for attention in a general job board where trades postings get buried.
Finding Your Province
Canada's labour market varies significantly by province, from the industries that dominate local hiring to provincial employment standards and parental leave top-up programs. WomenAtWork.ca organizes postings so you can narrow your search to your own province or region, whether that is Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, Alberta, or elsewhere.
Why Province-Level Filtering Matters
A return-to-work program in Alberta's energy sector looks very different from one in Ontario's financial sector or a trades apprenticeship in British Columbia. Filtering by province means you see postings relevant to your local labour market, local cost of living, and local employer landscape, rather than sorting through national listings that may not apply to where you actually live and work.
How to Get Started as a Job Seeker
Getting started takes a few concrete steps: create a profile, add your experience and the sectors you are targeting, and set up alerts for the province and role types you want. From there, you can apply directly to postings or wait for employers to reach out based on your profile. Start at WomenAtWork.ca for job seekers to see current openings and set up your profile.
How to Get Started as an Employer
On the employer side, getting started means setting up an account, choosing a posting plan, and writing a listing that reflects your workplace policies honestly, including flexibility, leave, and advancement paths. Review your posting options and pricing at WomenAtWork.ca for employers.
FAQ
Is WomenAtWork.ca only for entry-level roles?
No. Postings span entry-level, mid-career, and senior roles across federally regulated employers, provincial employers, trades, and STEM sectors. Return-to-work postings in particular often target experienced professionals rather than new graduates.
Do I need direct experience in a trade to apply for a trades posting?
Not always. Many trades postings on the platform are apprenticeship or entry-level technical roles specifically aimed at candidates without prior trade experience, alongside postings for candidates with existing certifications.
What does "federally regulated employer" mean for a job seeker?
It means the employer operates under national labour standards and the Employment Equity Act rather than provincial employment law alone. Common examples include banks, airlines, telecommunications companies, and interprovincial transportation firms. These employers often have more formalized hiring and advancement processes.
Can employers outside federally regulated sectors post on WomenAtWork.ca?
Yes. While federally regulated employers make up a significant share of postings, provincially regulated employers across retail, healthcare, technology, manufacturing, and other sectors also post roles on the platform.
How is a return-to-work posting different from a regular job posting?
Return-to-work postings typically come from employers who have built in extra onboarding support, mentorship, or refresher training for candidates with employment gaps, and who have explicitly said they welcome applicants returning to the workforce after time away.
Does WomenAtWork.ca operate across all of Canada?
Yes. Postings are organized by province and region so job seekers and employers can filter to the parts of the country relevant to them, from Atlantic Canada to British Columbia.
Whether you are hiring or job hunting, WomenAtWork.ca serves both sides of the market. Employers can review pricing and post a role at WomenAtWork.ca for employers. Job seekers can browse openings and create a profile at WomenAtWork.ca for job seekers.