Dey 1

Debangshu Dey

Mr. Aldunate

CLN4U1-01

13th January 2011

Pay Equity: A Struggle

A Brief Study of Pay Equity in Canada

Men and Women should not be called the opposite sexes, instead referred to as

complimentary sexes. The sexes should be treated equally in every aspect, one of which is in the

pay they receive. The sexes should receive equal wages for equal work. It should be more about

‘from each according to his ability, to each according to his need’. Statistics show that men are

paid more than women for the same work. One may think if women are really paid less, why

would anyone hire a man? Put another way, would not a company full of men will soon be put

out of job by a company which hired only women. The truth is that the pay gap can be attributed

to large scale discrimination against women. Men who earn more most often do so because of

their gender. To get higher pay, men are more likely to enter higher-paying fields, perform

riskier tasks and take positions with less stability which explains the fact that only 26% of all

miners are women. To tackle this problem of unequal pay, various movements have risen in the

recent times ensuring pay equity. In Canada, the purpose of the Pay Equity Act is to achieve

equality in the workplace so that no person shall be denied employment opportunities. Though

massive strides have been undertaken in the past for pay equity, the true scenario of pay equity
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has not been achieved as there is wage disparity in various jobs undertaken by women including

unequal pay in the field of sports, and why women tend to work at low paid jobs.

There is pay inequity almost in any profession undertaken by women. Men earn

significantly more than women despite the existence of the Pay Equity Act. During the time

when Baby Boomers were joining the workforce, women earned 59 cents to the dollar till the

1980s where the wage gap was narrowed by just 15 cents to just 74 cents to the dollar. Back

then, the pay equity legislations never confirmed women equal pay as the men; they just gave the

women the hope that women could raise their voice against unjust treatment by their employers.

The Pay Equity Act of 1963 supported women who were employed in the public sector and

thereby, offering no security to the ones employed in the private sector. In 2002, the median

wages of women who worked full-time year-round were 76.2 percent of men’s (Werschkul 13).

In other words, women earned about 76 cents for every dollar earned by men. To reduce the

wage disparities, pay equity legislation prohibits wage discrimination where employees are

responsible for equal work. The goal of the legislation is to achieve the ideal balance between

financial comfort, professional fulfillment and personal happiness for each women employee.

Certain factors are a hindrance in the achievement of this dream. One reason why women earn

less because women in the workforce are less likely to work a full-time schedule and are more

likely to leave the labor force for longer periods of time than men. These differing work patterns

lead to an even larger earnings gap between men and women - suggesting that working women

are penalized for their dual roles as wage earners and those who disproportionately care for home

and family.
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Recent figures convey a better story. Working women today are paid an average of 80

cents for every dollar that men are paid, even when accounting for factors such as occupation,

industry, race, marital status and job tenure. There are more than 80 fields in which women earn

more than men, but some are too small to be statistically significant. Of which, there are only 40

fields in which women earn less than 5% more than their male counterparts. These positions

include counter attendants in cafeterias, food preparation workers, waitresses and service station

attendants to name a few. It has been argued that women earn less because they are not as

qualified as their male counterparts. However women in the same positions as the men still earn

less. For instance, women lawyers earn just 87% of their male counterparts (Farrell 8). In the

medical field, physicians and surgeons earn just 59% of pay compared to male physicians and

surgeons. Women and men employed in these fields are equally qualified as they would not be a

certified physician without same qualifications. Despite similar qualifications, women still earn

less.

Pay inequity runs rampant in the sport world too. Professional sport continues to provide

unequal pay to women. Paying men more for the same sport gives women in the sport less

incentive to push themselves. As a result, it also discourages future female participation in the

sport. Women athletes in the sport receive minuscule recognition and fewer rewards compared to

their male counterparts. For example, for finishing in third place in the 2003 Women’s World

Cup, each U.S. women’s national soccer team member was awarded $25,000. They would have

received $58,000 if they had won the Cup. For reaching the quarterfinal of the World Cup in

2002, the U.S. men’s national soccer team members received $200,000 each. To speak about

Tennis, Wimbledon offered greater prize money to the male athletes till 2007. These
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discrepancies occur because of certain misconceptions. One misconception is that woman’s

competitions are not as exciting compared to ‘masculine’ events for instance men perform riskier

tricks, hit a tennis ball harder. Women should be compared to other women, not to men. There is

a bias that women are not physically strong as the men but women perform to the best of their

physical abilities. They would perform the same with a fluctuating pay. Athletes are driven by

the passion for the sport, not for the money it offers. Another misapprehension is that women

should not receive the same prize money as they are unable to bring the sponsorships and

viewership compared to men. Women’s events are not publicized or advertised as much as

compared to men’s events. Therefore it will be unfair to say they are unable to draw attention

from the public. If the women's events are not included in the telecast, it is misleading to argue

that men's events receive higher ratings. Another delusion is that men’s competitions go on for a

longer time, include more games and thus men should receive more income. This assumption is

flawed as length of the competition should not matter. Star athletes are the ones who draw the

crowd. Women have the same capability like the men to draw crowds. The issue of pay inequity

goes beyond the issue of money. This issue extends beyond the playing field. When girls grow

up seeing celebrated women athletes receiving less than their male counterparts, they are forced

to believe it is okay for them to compromise. This acceptable value is not an accepted one.

Majority of women tend to be employed in low-paid jobs. In large corporate companies,

there is a bias that women are better in the human resource field than in any other field. It is a

stereotypical image of women being more cooperative, collaborative and intuitive than men. The

CEOs of any company come from the manufacturing, marketing and operations department, not

from the human resource department. The talented women are working in the human resources.
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Thus in a way women tend to hit a glass ceiling when they employed in the human resource

department. This explains the minute number of women CEOs in fortune 500 companies.

Another myth is that women are thought to be more children loving than men. More women tend

to become kindergarten teachers than university or college professors. This results in pay

inequity in academic institutions too. Furthermore, it has been maintained that women are more

costly to be maintained by the company because of the pregnancy obstacle. One calls it an

obstacle as it is believed a middle aged woman is a financial burden on any productive firm. The

woman herself too does not want to suffer through the financial and psychological burden of

being ousted from a company. As a result, fewer and fewer women are becoming mothers to

satisfy their career needs. The birth rate is declining. The current birth rate is 1.7. Canada needs a

birth rate of 2.1 to replace everyone in the workforce of the current generation. Companies are

not doing enough to tackle this grievous issue. Incentive packaging is a useful tool. More

companies should offer flexible maternity leaves and assure their women employees that they

would not be fired upon return.

The advances women have made are not experienced equally by all women. African

American, Aboriginals, and Asian women experience lower earnings and are less likely to work

in professional and managerial jobs than white women. The average woman is cheated out of

“about $250,000 in wages over a lifetime” (Farrell 144). Warren Farrell in his book Why Men

Earn More says pay inequity “creates a feeling that men have created a system run by men, for

men, to detriment of women. Telling one group that it is being cheated out of a quarter of a

million dollars by another group is the politics of victim power. It can lead to not only the most

dangerous racism but also to a dangerous sexism” (Farrell 145). The U.S has a similar story. In
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every state, racial and ethnic inequalities abound. In most states, these inequalities follow a

general trend: white and Asian American women enjoy better wages and less poverty than

African American, Hispanic, and Native American women. Women have made tremendous

progress toward gaining economic equality during the last several decades. Nonetheless,

throughout the United States, women earn less, are less likely to own a business, and are more

likely to live in poverty than men. Even in areas where there have been significant advances in

women’s status, there is still ample room for improvement. The economic status of women is

critical to the success and growth of every state and the entire country. Canada on the other hand

is heading in the opposite direction. Complaints about pay inequity would no longer be the

business of the Canadian Human Rights Commission, but would instead be referred to the Public

Service Labour Relations Board. The conservative say “this will lead to speedier resolutions of

disputes” (Macleans 7). Critics argue the new legislation will effectively gut the right to equality

in the workplace. This new route to justice will also be a cheaper one. There is a wide consensus

that pay equity is a human right. The new legislation effectively treats pay equity as if it’s not a

human right.

In conclusion, men do not protest financial inequality. Insubordination of women is deep-

rooted in every job undertaken by women. The belief that women are discriminated against in the

workplace reinforces a couple’s tendency to have the women stay at home. It is the tendency for

women to stay at home that makes the workplace value her less. Then, shortly after she is

married, it begins to make sense for her to move for her husband’s career neglecting her own.

Conversely, it makes sense for them to invest in his medical, his future disregarding her bleak

future. Soon the mother is out of the workplace, her skills are outdated and she gets a sense of
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nihilism which is instigated because she was not rebellious enough to take a stand about her

career prospects. Women should not succumb under the authority of their husband. They should

be their own husband.

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Works Cited

Farrell,Warren. Why Men Earn More. New York: AMACOM, 2005.

Misha Werschkul. “Evidence From Census 2000 About Earnings by Detailed Occupation for

Men and Women.” Census 2000 Special Reports. May 2004.

Wherry, Aaron. “Is this the quiet end to pay equity?” Macleans. February 2010.