feature
BUT REGARDLESS OF HOW ONE SLICES AND DICES THE
MEASUREMENT CRITERIA, THE OUTCOME IS ALWAYS
CONSTANT IN ONE RESPECT: THERE IS MORE THAN
A 10-CENT-ON-THE-DOLLAR GAP BETWEEN FEMALE
WORKERS AND THEIR MALE COUNTERPARTS.
A number of underlying factors have been identified when we
look at why the wage gap exists. Differences in workforce partic-ipation,
women being overrepresented in lower-paying jobs and
industries, overrepresentation in part-time work, the “motherhood
penalty” identified by researchers and the earnings/career progres-sion
lost during maternity leaves or time off to raise children are
some of the frequently cited factors. However, an estimated 10 to
15 per cent of the wage gap remains unexplained, and is generally
attributed to gender-based wage discrimination, according to the
Pay Equity Commission of Ontario.
STOPGAP MEASURES
Addressing the underlying factors are critical to creating progress
when it comes to narrowing the gap – and many Western gov-ernments
have made some notable strides in that regard. Since
passing the Pay Equity Act in 1987, Ontario in particular has tak-en
measures to lessen the disparity. In 2014, the province passed
the “Comply or Explain” regulation, requiring companies listed on
the Toronto Stock Exchange to report publicly on their approach
to increase the number of women on their boards and in executive
officer positions. Minimum wage increases, increased investment
in childcare, increased job skills training for low-income women
and microlending coupled with financial literacy training are just
a few other elements of the provincial strategy to close the gap.
On a more macro scale, the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD) reports that roughly two-thirds
of its 35 member nations have introduced new policies on
pay equity since 2013. Each member nation experiences a gender
wage gap, ranging from New Zealand’s at 5.6 per cent to South
Korea’s, at 36.6 per cent, according to 2013 data. Additionally,
Canada, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Slovakia, and Poland have
implemented increased subsidies or benefits for public child-care,
while Norway and the UK have introduced free childcare,
the OECD reports. Since 2016, nine countries have introduced
compulsory gender quotas for private limited companies and state-owned
enterprises (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece,
Iceland, Italy, Israel and Norway). To promote transparency on
pay, Australia, Japan, Germany, Lithuania, Sweden, Switzerland
and the UK have implemented measures to require more detailed
disclosure on gender pay gaps.
Notably, Iceland has recently become the first country to legal-ly
mandate that men and women receive equal pay for doing the
same work, with a law that took effect New Year’s Day, 2018. The
legislation makes it illegal for employers to pay one gender more
for the same work, as well as mandates that organizations with
25-plus employees must provide proof and obtain government
certification of their equal-pay policies.
Whatever the policy solutions under consideration, one bene-ficial
element that most experts seem to agree on is that of pay
transparency. Prohibiting pay secrecy and creating transparent, ac-cessible
compensation practices quite literally leaves nowhere to
hide when it comes to structural inequities. For all the progress
that has been made, transparency is perhaps one of the most crit-ical
tools when it comes to closing the gap – once and for all. n
Liz Bernier is a communications specialist with the Human
Resources Professionals Association.
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