Equal Pay Still Lacking in Canada (1/15/08)

Ontario's Pay Equity Act celebrated its 20th Anniversary this year. The law requires that jobs be evaluated and work mostly or traditionally done by women be compared to work mostly or traditionally done by men. It was designed to close the pay gap suffered by women workers in Ontario, who are often being paid much less than men for the same work. Twenty years later, women workers in Ontario still earn on average 29 percent less than men who do the same kind of work.

"While some progress has been made, women are still discriminated against in the workplace in Ontario, receiving less pay while working just as hard as men," said RWDSU Northern Joint Council President Derik McArthur. "One way women in the workplace can protect themselves is by joining a union. But we must keep fighting to make sure that the Pay Equity Act is enforced in Ontario and that no workers suffer from pay discrimination."