Gender pay gap slowly narrowing, national survey says

A survey for the human resources firm ADP Canada has found the gender pay gap narrowed by three per cent in the past year.

The results showed working Canadian women on average earned 21 per cent less than men in similar jobs with similar experience levels. That reversed a three per cent widening of the gap in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is positive and presents opportunities,” said ADP Canada’s vice president of marketing Heather Haslam.

“It’s positive in that we’re slowly narrowing the gap, but we have a long way to go. The gap represents $15,000 a year for women in this country.”

The survey also found since 2018, salaries for women have been rising faster than for men. Women enjoyed increases of 15 per cent versus nine per cent for men.

The average salary for a male in the 2018 survey was $66,500 and it rose to $72,700 by 2022. Women enjoyed a $10,000 annual increase to $57,700.

“It’s a catch up being done by many organizations,” said Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce CEO Rakesh Naidu.

“Women in the past have been paid lower and companies are trying to do their bit to ensure equity. Equity is an issue that is getting a lot more attention in society.”

The survey also revealed a growing shift in employees’ willingness to accept being underpaid compared to others doing similar work.

Nearly half (47 per cent) of all workers said they’d leave their employer if they discovered such a situation. Half of women said they’d leave their job while 44 per cent of men would depart.

There’s a significant difference between the generations in tolerance of the gender pay gap that flashed danger signals to companies that don’t address this issue going forward.

The survey reported 63 per cent of Gen Zs and 53 per cent of millennials would consider leaving their jobs in a case of salary inequalities across genders. Only 37 percent of Gen X workers and 32 per cent of Boomers would ponder leaving their employer.

“All of us need to pay attention to the fact younger generations will move around and have more opportunities to do so with the number of job postings unfilled,” Naidu said.

“Jobs aren’t just in the local area, but there can be an opportunity in Vancouver and they can still be here. These opportunities give them the confidence to stand up and demand people be treated equally.

“It’s changing the makeup of society.”

Haslam added it was no surprise older workers were less willing to leave their positions as they would have more invested in their careers with a company, pension plans, are closer to retirement and have been exposed to such inequities for much longer.

“This does have the potential to be a disruptive issue for employee retention,” Haslam said. “The next generation of workers has a stronger sense about the importance of equity.”

Haslam noted one positive was the survey found 71 per cent of workers felt pay equity was a priority for their organization.

However, the survey also confirmed women are still underrepresented in the higher pay bands.

Thirty-three per cent of men surveyed reported making more than $80,000 while only 18 per cent of women fell into that category.

“We’ve had a long history of underpaying female contributions,” Haslam said. “Employers will offer pay at the level of what they think someone will take.

“Look at the types of roles that are more female focused versus other roles. There’s a real difference in salary.

“For example, daycare workers are more female focused. They look after our most important asset – children – yet we pay them barely above the poverty line.

“It’s shocking.”

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