BC elects more women -- Pay inequity continues







On May 14th, the British Columbian legislature elected more women than any other province in Canada, the Huffington Post BC section reported May 17th. This is of course great news for British Columbia, but what about the rest of Canada?

There is also a bigger issue at play here which takes precedence over female representation in politics, and that is the issue of wage equality. In the year 2013 women and men are still not paid equally for doing the same job done in this country.

Thirty-two percent of those elected in British Columbia’s recent election were women, according to the Huffington Post BC. This figure is positive,  but there is still a lot of work to be done, and it should start with pay equality. The Pay Equity Coalition exists to tackle issues of pay inequality, and attempt to find solutions to discrepancies. On their website they discuss the results of a 2010 Statistics Canada study on pay equality in the province of Ontario.

“ The average annual earnings of all women in Ontario as compared to men is 72% or a 28% gap.”

The Pay Equity Coalition has provided several reasons why a difference in pay exists between men and women and mainly center around: discrimination, family obligations, as well as the kinds of jobs women are getting.

“Occupational segregation in historically undervalued and low-paying jobs, such as childcare and clerical work, discrimination in hiring, promotion and compensation practices in the workplace, [and] family care-giving responsibilities, resulting in a loss of seniority, advancement opportunities and wages.”  

In response to the findings on the types of jobs affecting pay equity, one could argue that due to women’s rates of attending post-secondary education increasing more than ever before, the more traditional job industries such as child care may not play the most significant role in pay equity issues, however the issue of family planning continues to be a relevant and serious issue.

We have all seen it before: a woman has children, is placed on maternity leave for one year and misses out on an opportunity of advancement to her male counterpart.  

What is government doing about these pay inequities?  The Pay Equity Commission describes a process where the onus is placed on employers to ensure equity.

“[The employer must] ad[just] the job rates of female job classes so that they are at least equal to the job rates of comparable male job classes based on skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions.”

If the onus is placed on the employer to protect pay equity, they could simply ignore any issues, which presents a problem.

Moving forward, it is important to acknowledge provinces like BC which are clearly doing something right when it comes to female representation, however it mustn't overshadow the work that still needs to be done on pay equity in Canada. 

 


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