OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - 36
CAreerS
buIldInG
equalitY:
pay equity and the
Gender Wage Gap
This article was submitted to
OSPE by Emanuela Heyninck,
Commissioner of Ontario's Pay
Equity Commission.
I
n 2014, the Honourable Kevin Flynn,
Ontario's Minister of Labour was
mandated by the Premier to develop a
strategy to close the gender wage gap in
the context of the 21st century economy.
The Minister appointed a four-person
Gender Wage Gap Strategy Steering
Committee to research the causes of the
gender wage gap, consult with the public
and stakeholders on potential solutions,
study the actions of other jurisdictions
and make recommendations for a
strategy. I was one of the persons
appointed.
Between October 26, 2015 and
February 29, 2016, the Committee held
public town hall sessions in 14 locations
across Ontario. An online survey was
made available for individuals and for
businesses. Stakeholders, including
OSPE, provided written submissions
or participated in key stakeholder
regional meetings. OSPE's Women
in Engineering Advocacy Committee
(WEAC) set out its position and
provided valuable input from the
perspective of professional engineers
working in a variety of sectors. OSPE's
36
The VOICe
September 2017
submission was quoted by the Committee in its consultation summary, released in
April 2016.
The Steering Committee's Final Report was submitted to the Minister in mid-2016
and the Government commenced detailed consideration of their recommendations
through a Gender Wage Gap Working Group. The work of this group is continuing
and a finalized plan to close the gap is expected soon.
The Gender waGe GaP
The existence of a gender wage gap has been cause for concern for all countries since
at least the late 1950s. The gap represents evidence that women do not experience
the same economic return from the workplace as do men. Over several decades in
Ontario, various policy initiatives and laws have been implemented to attempt to
address this gap. Although the gap has narrowed over time, progress in closing the
gap has been slow and inconsistent, despite the fact that women have achieved high
levels of education and are very much engaged in the labour force.
We know that the root cause of the gender wage gap is related to continuing bias,
social norms and behaviours that influence how women and men are perceived at
work and at home. These biases and norms affect how children are taught and raised,
the career choices young adults make, how caregiving responsibilities are allocated
between parents and how embedded business practices treat women and men in
terms of hiring, promotion, environment and, most importantly, from a gender wage
gap perspective, compensation.
The cumulative effect of these biases at different stages in the work/life cycle is
that men and women continue to be siloed in their choice of gendered occupations,
women continue to be undervalued and underpaid at work across all sectors, bear
more of the caregiving responsibilities for children and seniors while juggling work,
and represent a higher proportion of part-time workers, minimum wage earners as
well as those living in poverty.
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