A recent survey done by the Angus Reid Institute suggests that although men and women differ in their opinion regarding the seriousness of the gender pay gap in Canada, they agree that there should be legislative measures in place to address the topic.
Seven in ten working people, both male and female, have agreed that if there were an equal pay law introduced that requires companies with over 25 employees pay equal wages for equal work to be introduced, they would support that law.
Four in five working women find the pay gap to be a serious issue, compared to only half of working men — and women are more likely to feel as though there is a gender wage gap present in their workplace that is benefiting their male counterparts.
Women are also more likely to feel as though their workplace performance is held to a higher standard due to their gender. Similarly, men are twice as likely to say that any wage differences between men and women can be attributed to decisions made rather than gendered discrimination.
Around half of Canadian workers surveyed feel as though the wage gap has been shrinking over the last ten years, but 36% say that it has not changed and remains the same.
A Statistics Canada study also demonstrates that women were under-represented in the top earning groups in Canada in 2018, which is suggested to play a large part in the continued gender earnings gap. The number of female CEOs among the country’s largest public companies has increased by two in the last 14 years; the percentage of female CEOs and executive officers to just shy of 10% of the national total.
