Despite the wage gap in Canada, the ‘Equal Pay for Equal Work’ movement exists. It is defined as any “work that is substantially the same, requiring the same skill, effort and responsibility and performed under similar working conditions in the same establishment” should receive the same pay as all other workers doing this same work. As the Province of Ontario notes, the pay gap is even larger for women who are minorities; aboriginal, newcomers, or women living with disabilities. The gender gap is much wider than is commonly believed, women’s incomes are 61% of men’s, despite years of trying to close the gender gap. However, there has been an increase in women’s average incomes by less than $3000, after two decades of women’s progress. In …show more content…
Platy Enterprises Ltd.’ occurred. In this case, the Supreme Court of Canada recognises sexual harassment as sex discrimination. The top court unanimously sided with a Dianna Janzen, a restaurant waitress who was fired after complaining about sexual harassment at the hands of a colleague. Unwelcome sexual conduct that adversely affects the work environment is sexual discrimination, the court said. Also, in 2006, ‘Sulz v. Attorney General’ occurred, the British Columbia Supreme Court awards large damage for prolonged harassment. Former RCMP officer Nancy Schulz brought a case against the RCMP for not taking action when her direct supervisors harassed her for over two years. The harassment led Schulz to take a leave of absence and eventually accept a medical discharge. She won $950,000 in damages, which included compensation for the emotional impact of the abuse as well as future wage loss. These cases are significant precedents for the fight against gender-based harassment in the …show more content…
Canada Safeway Ltd., the Supreme Court recognises pregnancy discrimination as sex discrimination. Sandra Brook’s employer’s benefit plan excluded pregnant women, which she alleged was sex discrimination. The court agreed in a landmark ruling that “made it impossible for employers to successfully argue that discrimination against pregnant employees was not discrimination under human rights legislation,” according to employment lawyers at Rubin Thomlinson LLP. Under the Act, employers may also benefit from developing family-friendly policies, informing employees of them, and preventing pregnancy-related discrimination in the workplace. Another example of pregnancy discrimination is in Poirier v. British Columbia (Ministry of Municipal Affairs, Recreation and Housing) (1997) and Carewest v. Health Sciences Association of Alberta (Re Degagne) (2001), differential treatment of women who are breastfeeding constitutes discrimination on the basis of sex was
Deborah P. Labelle filed a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission on September 3, 2009 against Rogers Communications Inc. The complainant, Labelle feels that Rogers Communications Inc. the respondent, discriminated against her because she is a woman. This falls under section 3 of the CHRA which covers and protects against sex discrimination. Labelle alleges she was treated differently compared to her male counterparts and was eventually fired from her position. The complainant filed this complaint on the grounds of sex discrimination.
Though any pay disparity between women and men is a pressing issue, the “wage gap” is much more complicated than people believe because of misleading statistics, unaccounted for variables, and the different social and economic choices of men and women. The common idea that women make 77 cents on every dollar men make in the workplace is very misleading. It is true, however, this statistic ignores any factors that justify different pay. The wage gap is just the difference
Summary: Canada should commit to developing and passing a compulsory and proactive pay equity law similar to Iceland to address pay inequality and outline corrective actions to close the gender wage gaps in workforces. It is recommended that a pay equity law should be passed to ensure that there is a fair pay system in place that is transparent and free from gender biases. The pay equity law will require employers to identify and correct gender discriminations that are present in the workplace
Canadian workplaces today seem to be a fairly diverse place, with a blend of many religions, ethnicities, and genders present. However, although people preach affirmative action and melting pots in current times, many inequality and power issues still abound. One strikingly noticeable example is gender discrimination. Women in the workforce face many challenges like smaller wages, harassment, male privilege in hiring or promotions, and lack of support when pregnant or raising children. One half of the planet is women, and it can be assumed the same for Canada, but they still face judgment at work because they lack the authority to dispute against big corporations or even their male supervisor. It cannot be argued that Canadian women’s status has worsened over the past hundred years, of course, thanks to feminism and activism. However, their status is not as high as it could be. Women as a group first started fighting for workplace equality during the second wave of feminism, from the 1960s to the 1990s. Legislation was approved during the second wave to try to bring gender equality to the workplace. Feminists both collided and collaborated with unions and employers to ensure women received fair treatment in an occupation. Quebec had the same issues, only the province approached the conflict differently than English Canada with its own unique viewpoint. It became clear that women were entering the workplace and did not plan on leaving. Second-wave feminism in Canada shifted power from the government and businesses to women in order to try to bring equality, although the discrimination never completely disappeared.
In “Exploiting the Gender Gap” Warren Farrell argues that the issue of disparity between men and women’s wages does not exist. Farrell provides multiple statistics and research that contradict the ever prominent “fact” put out by the media that women are paid less than men. He then covers a range of personal examples that strengthen his argument. He, subsequently, moves beyond the simplicity of wage disparity and brings the focus of his attention to the focus on discrimination.
It is often said that in Canada, “The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.” Respond. Be certain to differentiate between income and wealth. How has the occupy movement contributed to this debate?
When we look at the history of women’s paid employment in Canada, we can see that society has come a long way. Previously, women’s work was in the home, in the private sphere. Her work consisted of taking care uniquely of the home and the children. Rarely, would we see women working for a wage expect for poor women; only because, their families needed the income. Mainly, the only jobs that were available for women were domestic service, a job that relates to the private sphere of the home. People believed that if a woman had paid employment, she was taking away a paycheck from a man, or she would become too manly.
Legislation in Ontario affects human resources. Some can be bad well others can be beneficial to the workplace. My paper will be focusing on the federal legislations in Ontario and how it is improving various non-unionized workplaces. At the end of my report I will be summarizing the concept of family status related to the 11 prohibited grounds in a case study regarding a single mom and how she almost lost her job with CN Rail.
The wage gap is a major issue that is constantly brought up in the work place. Numerous people use the term “wage gap” to state how gender can affect somebody 's income. There has always been an understanding that men typically made more money than women. For a long time, women were not allowed to work; therefore men were in charge of “bringing home the bacon”. However, times have changed and there are various situations where a household is centered off a women’s’ income. Females can become single mothers who have a responsibility to care for a child(s). Responsibilities can include monthly payments of water and electric bills and even weekly payments towards groceries. Women have to acquire enough money so that they are able
Fay Faraday, a Toronto human right lawyer argued, “The pay gap fosters an environment in which women have less economic security and less economic power”. It is proven women are paid less than the same job performed by others. This creates women to lose their self esteem and self confidence. With unequal pay, especially for women, this causes less buying power and less savings for the future. Furthermore, “The push for increasing women’s wages started in the 1960s with the Equal Pay Act, individual lawsuits and action by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The message, then and now, is so powerful that when people hear it they begin to take action. For example, the California Fair Pay Act, authored by state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, passed with bipartisan support and gives California women the strongest fair pay protection in the nation” (Sure, Equal Pay Day is about what’s in women’s paychecks. It’s also about fairness., The Washington Post). Women’s rights have been fought in the past but now they need to be reinforced and acted upon. Women have been fighting for many years, it is now time those rights be listened to and peace can finally be restored. The Equal Pay Act was not only fought for equal paychecks but for fair pay for similar work. Unequal pay will never be solved without understanding the importance of
Victoria. (2006). How Much of Remaining Gender Pay Gap is Result of Discrimination and How Much is Due to Individual Choices? International Journal of Urban Labour and Leaisure , 7 (2).
For many decades, women have faced inequalities in the workforce. At one point, they were not allowed to work at all. Although women's rights have improved and are now able to work alongside men, they are still treated unfairly. According to the 2012 U.S. Census, women’s earnings were “76.5 percent of men’s” (1). In 2012, men, on average, earned $47,398 and women earned only $35,791.
The division of labour and education along gender lines, racial inequalities and discrimination, and unpaid domestic labour all contribute to the growing feminization of poverty. Feminists are working to decrease the income gap, to benefit the overall health of women and the population at large. The term feminization of poverty describes the disproportionate amount of women who are poor, and its link to the division of labour along gender lines (Calixte, Johnson, & Motapanyane, 2010). The Canadian Labour Congress reported that in 2005, women working full time earned 70.5 cents to the dollar that every male in a comparable job earned ( as cited in Calixte, et al., 2010, p. 17) Across the board, women are more likely to suffer from poverty than men are (Harnan, 2006). Feminists are constantly trying to decrease the wage gap with activism.
Women’s right to equal pay or gender pay gap has been a subject of discussion over the years in the united states, women perform similar jobs to men, but are paid
In today’s society, it is an understatement that women have come a long way from earlier generations in achieving gaining equal rights with men. Gender roles have evolved greatly throughout history; women can even be known as the breadwinners. However, discrepancies still exist when it comes to equal pay for equal work. This issue has the potential to have an impact on all women including myself, as I hope to one day join the workforce and become a financially independent businesswoman. While some argue that the issue is not relevant to today’s society there are still cases where women’s pay does not match up to men for doing the exact same work.