The Equal Pay Coalition was formed in 1976 as a coalition of organizations to seek the implementation of equal pay for work of equal value both through legislation and collective bargaining. The Coalition has over 39 constituent and partner groups which represent Ontario women and men who support equal pay for work of equal value . See About Us for more information.

What is Pay Equity?

Pay equity is equal pay for work of equal value. Pay equity is the fundamental human right of women workers to be paid wages that are free of the systemic gender-based discrimination that values and pays women's work less than men's work of comparable value.

Pay equity is the legal remedy to sex-based wage discrimination. Pay equity requires that women's and men's jobs be evaluated in a non-discriminatory way by accurately identifying and valuing the skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions of the job. Pay equity requires that female jobs be paid the same as male jobs of similar value. If a female job is paid less than a male job of similar value, pay equity requires that pay to the female job be raised to the match the male job.

In summary, pay equity means:

* paying jobs usually done by women at least the same as jobs usually done by men

* even though they are different jobs

* as long as the jobs are of equal or comparable value.

Why Do We Need Pay Equity?

Historically, men and women tended to work in different jobs. Even today, in Canada 70% of women with paid employment are concentrated in a few female-dominated sectors included health, teaching, clerical, sales and service. This sex segregation of work has been and continues to be linked with wage discrimination and low pay.

In general, work traditionally or predominantly done by women is paid less than work traditionally or predominantly done by men regardless of the value of the work to the employer or the consumer. The more heavily women are concentrated in a job, the less it pays.

This has created a significant wage gap between men and women.

Pay equity legislation works to eliminate that discrimination and close the wage gap. In 1987, the year before Ontario's Pay Equity Act came into force, comparing average yearly full time salaries, women earned only 64% of what men earned. After almost twenty years of pay equity laws, women now earn 71% of what men earn.

Pay equity works. But the Pay Equity Commission has expressed concern that one broader public sector and private sectors are substantially not complying with the law. The Act must continue to to be enforced and wage discrimination must be eliminated.

Facts About Pay Equity

Equal pay is a priority for women. Discrimination in pay is not limited to one career or demographic. Pay discrimination affects women of all ages, races, and education levels - regardless of their family decisions.

The Wage Gap:

According to Statistics Canada, women, on average earn 29% less than men. This wage gap was even larger for racial minority women, aboriginal women and women with disabilities. Racial minority women, on average, earn 36% less than men. Aboriginal women, on average, earn 54% less than men. Women with disabilities earn significantly less than women and men without disabilities.

Discriminatory wages affect women throughout their lives from their first jobs and continuing into retirement.

The Wage Gap Affecting Young Women Workers:

The wage gap affects women throughout their lives and into retirement.

* Young women graduating from high school earn 27% less than young men.

* Young women graduating from university earn 16% less than male graduates in their first jobs. This wage gap widens as their careers progress. For every age group the earnings gap for women with a university degree has widened in the last decade.

The Wage Gap and Poverty of Elderly Women:

The wage gap has long term effects on women's economic security. Women are more likely than men to enter poverty in old age for several reasons connected to discriminatory pay.

* 42 percent of elderly women in Canada live in poverty.

* The median income of older women is almost half what it is for older men.

* A lifetime of lower wages means that women workers have less income they can save for retirement.

* Because past wages are used to calculate pension benefits, women's lower wages while working means women receive smaller pensions either under CPP/QPP or other pension plans.

* Women's current life expectancy is approaching 86 years which means they outlive men by an average of 3 years. As a result, they will have to stretch their retirement savings - which are smaller to begin with - over a longer period of time.

Pay Equity is A Poverty-Eradication Strategy:

Pay equity is closely linked to poverty eradication. One US study found that if married women were paid the same as men doing comparable work, their families' poverty rates would fall from 2.1 percent to 0.8 percent. If single working mothers earned as much as men doing comparable work, their poverty rates would be cut in half, from 24.3 percent to 12.6 percent.

Pay Equity is Good For Business:

Pay equity is essential to having a highly motivated workforce. Rewarding staff for their skills can be highly motivating; doing the opposite can create a negative impact. Employers who pay women wages that match their value can create a positive work environment. This can help to increase productivity, reduce absenteeism and sick leave, and create a positive image with their customers.