Ontario women earn 29 per cent less than men
For women in Ontario, the middle of September means more than the end of summer. It is a stark reminder of the gender pay gap that persists in the province.
As of Sept. 17 the year is 71 per cent of the way over, and with women in Ontario earning an average of 71 cents for every dollar men earn, it also marks the day women start working for free, according to the Equal Pay Coalition.
With an overall 29-per-cent gender pay gap, women are effectively denied their fair pay from now until the end of the year while men get their full pay, states the coalition.
Ontario's Pay Equity Act, which is 20 years old this year, was supposed to end this de-valuation by requiring employers to pay women's and men's jobs the same where they were of comparable value.
The pay gap has decreased from 38 per cent in 1988 to 29 per cent today, but that is still too high, according to the coalition. Canada ranks 17th among 22 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries, and is behind the United States, which has a 23-per-cent pay gap.
The World Economic Forum's 2007 Global Gender Gap Report highlighted the key role gender "remuneration gaps" play in preventing economies from realizing their full potential. Businesses, communities and governments all benefit from pay equity enforcement.
The Equal Pay Coalition has the following recommendations for the Government to close the gender pay gap:
•increase the minimum wage to $10 per hour immediately as a pay equity down payment;
•full public funding of public sector pay equity adjustments; and
•full funding of the Pay Equity Commission, the Pay Equity Tribunal and legal support services for claimants, especially for those in the private sector where compliance is low and the pay gap is higher.
Pay equity statistics:
•Racial minority women earn 36 per cent less than men.
•Aboriginal women earn 54 per cent less than men.
•Women with disabilities earn much less than women and men without disabilities.
•Married women have the widest pay gap at 33 per cent.
•Retired women's median income is almost half that of retired men.
As of Sept. 17 the year is 71 per cent of the way over, and with women in Ontario earning an average of 71 cents for every dollar men earn, it also marks the day women start working for free, according to the Equal Pay Coalition.
With an overall 29-per-cent gender pay gap, women are effectively denied their fair pay from now until the end of the year while men get their full pay, states the coalition.
Ontario's Pay Equity Act, which is 20 years old this year, was supposed to end this de-valuation by requiring employers to pay women's and men's jobs the same where they were of comparable value.
The pay gap has decreased from 38 per cent in 1988 to 29 per cent today, but that is still too high, according to the coalition. Canada ranks 17th among 22 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries, and is behind the United States, which has a 23-per-cent pay gap.
The World Economic Forum's 2007 Global Gender Gap Report highlighted the key role gender "remuneration gaps" play in preventing economies from realizing their full potential. Businesses, communities and governments all benefit from pay equity enforcement.
The Equal Pay Coalition has the following recommendations for the Government to close the gender pay gap:
•increase the minimum wage to $10 per hour immediately as a pay equity down payment;
•full public funding of public sector pay equity adjustments; and
•full funding of the Pay Equity Commission, the Pay Equity Tribunal and legal support services for claimants, especially for those in the private sector where compliance is low and the pay gap is higher.
Pay equity statistics:
•Racial minority women earn 36 per cent less than men.
•Aboriginal women earn 54 per cent less than men.
•Women with disabilities earn much less than women and men without disabilities.
•Married women have the widest pay gap at 33 per cent.
•Retired women's median income is almost half that of retired men.
