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| https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/agencies-rush-meet-gender-pay-gap-deadline/1461051 |
A largely debated issue in terms of gender inequality in the workplace has been the wage gap. It’s important to note when we refer to “the wage gap” we are not talking about misconceptions that it is only based on average salaries across the country, and neither are we referring to how many males are employed in higher ranked positions than women; the wage gap refers to women, in the same positions, performing the same duties, being paid significantly less than men. Not only is this practice not fair, but it signifies to women that they are still below men, not as valued in the workplace, or not “worth” as much.
Although it was not always an accepted concept, most Canadians are now noting that they know there is a wage gap and believe something should be done about it. For those that are still skeptical, in the Global News article below, journalist Marillisa Racco "debunks" these common myths on the gender gap.
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"These two operations specialists both worked for a tech startup in Toronto. They were on the same team and had the same amount of experience: one year. She was promoted to a supervisor role but left soon after for another job in tech with fairer compensation. (Photographs by Micah Bond and Marta Iwanek; Caption story by Catherine McIntrye, MacLean's, 2018)"
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Unfortunately, the wage gap has an even greater impact on women of racialized minorities, including Canada’s Indigenous women. In a country that promotes and takes pride in multiculturalism and diversity, we need to be showing these women that they are valued in our workplaces.
The wage gap isn’t just about making money. We know that lower income builds a greater divide on social statuses of our Canadian minorities, and increases issues of racialized poverty. In Canada, our populations of racialized women in poverty* outnumber men, and on average have higher education levels compared non-racialized poverty populations. This points to an even larger issue our country needs to address.
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Facts and Image presented by Marilisa Racco, (Global News, 2018.)
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(*Canada excludes Aboriginal people from their statistics on racialized poverty populations)
Government of Canada: Snapshot on Racialized Poverty
Fortunately, in terms of regulations, our country has been moving in the right direction. Canada signed the International Labour Organization’s Convention 100, the Equal Remuneration Convention, which the Government of Canada set to try to ensure equal compensation for work of equal value regardless of gender and reminds employers that pay equity is protected in the Canadian Human Rights Act. The government of Ontario also implemented an equal pay law in the Employment Standards Act this year, which protects those working in businesses of 25 or more employees.
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