Introduction Women’s increased labour force participation in Canada is a well-known trend over the past 40 years, and there is a perception that the gendered division of the labour force has decreased over time.

Objectives The study objective was to document the division of occupations by sex/gender in Canada and to examine the trends since 1991. The evidence is intended to inform occupational health and safety policies and procedures by including issues of sex/gender as part of the discourse on risk prevention, where warranted.

Methods Data obtained from the last six Canadian Censuses of Population (1991–2016) were analyzed and descriptive statistics were used to examine the labour force composition within various resolutions of the National Occupational Classification (NOC) codes by sex/gender. GEE Poisson regression models were used to generate time- and occupation-adjusted estimates for incidence rate ratios with 95% confidence intervals for sex/gender differences in the labour force. Highly divided occupations were defined as those with 75% or more men or women.

Results Of the 500 4-digit occupational categories representing 2,892 data points over the 25-year period, 58% were highly divided, with more than three-quarters of these incidences being for male-dominated occupations, with less than one-quarter being for female-dominated occupations. GEE analyses of these occupation groups within broad occupational groups suggested relative stability in the gendered nature of occupations over time, with a statistically significant reduction in the proportion of highly divided occupations only observed among occupations broadly grouped within natural and applied sciences.

Conclusion The Canadian workforce remains highly sexed/gendered. While the distribution of men and women within occupations is driven by complex factors, our inquiry into these found that systems of gender essentialism, organizational hierarchies that favour men, and labour markets that are change-resistant remain challenges.