The Gender Gap Continues

March 9 2006 - A Statistics Canada report released this week shows that gender inequality still exists in Canada's workplaces. The average earnings of female employees are still significantly lower than their male counterparts and women continue to make up a disproportionate share of Canadians with low incomes. They are also much more likely than men to have part time jobs.

"Ten years ago, women made 71 cents for every dollar made by men. Today, they make 71 cents," says Gil McGowan, President of the Alberta Federation of Labour. "We have gone nowhere in terms of creating gender equality. Women remain absent in the boardrooms, they continue to be underpaid for doing the same work as their male co-workers, and many still experience the triple day - handling the bulk of responsibilities at work, at home and with elderly parents."

"It is an embarrassing track record."

The Statistics Canada report, Women in Canada: A Gender-based Statistical Report shows a number of positive advances. For example, women are catching up with men in the attainment of university degrees, and have half the diagnostic and treatment posts in medicine, related health professions and also in business and financial professional positions. In 2004, 37% of managers were women compared with 30% in 1987, but this simple statistic hides the fact that the number of positions occupied by women actually fell slightly between 1996 and 2004 and women tend to occupy the lower-level management jobs.

Part of the problem, says Gil McGowan, is the lack of female union membership in Canada:

"Studies repeatedly show that one of the most effective means to reduce gender inequality is to have a unionized workplace. Unionized women make 89 cents for every dollar earned by men compared to 71 cents for non-unionized women. In other words, the gender gap is 11 cents on the dollar for union women versus 29 cents for non-union women. This is no accident. Unions are committed to forcing employers to pay according to the job, not the gender of the worker. And we are able to get results."

Other major findings in the report

In 2004, 58% of all women aged 15 and over were part of the paid work force, compared with 42% in 1976.
Women accounted for 47% of the employed work force in 2004 - up from 37% in 1976.
In 2003, women working on a full-time, full-year basis had average earnings of $36,500 - 71% of the earnings of their male counterparts made. This gap had changed little in the previous 10 years.
In 2004, 27% of employed women worked part-time, compared with just 11% of employed men. 70% of all part-time employees are female - virtually the same as the mid-1970s.