Marking Equal Pay Day

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April 10, 2018

It’s the day of the year when the wages of the average woman finally catch up to what the average male made in the previous year.

The calculation of this date and the pay gap comes from a number of factors. The Ontario Equal Pay Coalition considers the earnings of all workers, as well as the following:

  • The underemployment of women. Women make up the majority of part-time workers.
  • Lack of access to affordable childcare for women who want full-time work.
  • The segregation of women into lower paid job classes. In general, the higher the concentration of women, the lower the pay.
  • Women’s dominance in minimum wage jobs.
  • Women’s lack of access to collective bargaining.

Additionally, gender is not the only criteria to affect pay. When other forms of discrimination intersect with gender, the gap increases. This includes:

  • racialized women
  • Indigenous women
  • immigrant and migrant women
  • women with disabilities
  • elderly women
  • women who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (LGBTQ)

For more information, visit equalpaycoalition.org.

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