Over half of Airbnb hosts in Canada are women
Major progress has been made in advancing economic opportunities for women over the last several decades, but significant obstacles to gender equality still remain. The gender pay gap between men and women is well-documented, and research indicates that while the percentage of women in the workforce has risen dramatically in recent decades, that growth is expected to stagnate or even reverse over the next 40 years.
Airbnb cannot single-handedly tear down the many obstacles to empowerment that women face worldwide. However, the platform is powered by a growing worldwide community of women hosts who are connecting with guests, each other, and their local communities. In fact, historically, women hosts have outnumbered men hosts around the world.
According to a 2017 Airbnb study, 58% of hosts in Canada are women – that is over 35,100 female hosts.
UN Women points to the sharing economy as one transformation that can be leveraged to have a positive impact for women. Since Airbnb’s founding in 2008, our community has pioneered the development of the global sharing economy. In that time, we’re proud that women Airbnb hosts have earned over $10 billion through our platform. With the complications that forces like automation bring, Airbnb continues to serve as a powerful way for women to independently achieve greater financial, professional, and social empowerment.
Learn the facts about women hosts in Canada:
• 58 percent of hosts in Canada are women. That’s higher than the global average.
• Since 2012, the percentage of women hosts has grown by a factor of 28 in Canada.
• 14 percent of women hosts use Airbnb income to support themselves while working part-time.
Airbnb estimates that over 50,000 women around the world have used Airbnb income to support entrepreneurship for themselves, launching a business or as direct investment capital for a new business they’re starting.
Women hosts are leaders in the international home sharing community:
• 59 percent of Superhosts are women, over 60 percent of Home Sharing Club leader hosts are women, and women represented 61 percent of the hosts who led workshops and hosting classes at the Airbnb Open.
• More women hosts than men hosts report that they use their Airbnb income to help afford their home, especially single mothers who host.
• Globally, 62 percent of single mother hosts report using their Airbnb income to help afford their home.