Earnings differentials between men and women in Canada

Earning Differentials Between Men and Women in Canada

"Young women heading into the workforce be warned:

You may think it's an even playing field when you get there but be prepared to earn less than the men from your graduating class and in the cubicles next to you"

(Donaldson, ¶1).

The earning potentials between men and women in Canada reflect little to no change since the 1980's. According to Jeff Atkinson, in the article, "New Report reveals a widening gap between men and women in Canada," during a 10-year study, findings indicate that women's earnings dropped. Contrary to the pattern in 1998, where women's earnings increased, in Canada, most women's earnings decreased. The study revealed that in 1998, women earned 75 cents for every dollar men with the same qualifications earned. In 2008, earnings slipped to just 68 cents, compared to men earning a dollar.

In the different provinces of Canada, work-life balance decisions, and education levels represent a few of the variables some argue may contribute to the differences in pay related to gender. Other factors such as age and gender bias reflect similar areas where women make less than men.

Topic Content

According to the Conference Board of Canada, out of 17 peer countries, Canada earns a "C" and is ranked 12th in gender gap pay differentials (Conference Board of Canada, Key Messages Section). Canada ranks 12th along with the United Kingdom and Finland with a gap of 21% and has decreased the gap from the 1980's and 1990's. Significant increases in educational levels have promoted the narrowing of the gender gap but women lose ground when taking off time to give birth and start families. The absence from the workplace during this time period causes the females to lose wages and cuts down on the raises given to a woman vs. The men who have not lost any working time.

From all the data studied by this researcher, the topic of pay differentials between men and women in Canada can be based on various reasons. The main differences in pay differential include the following:

The Canadian province the worker resides in the educational level of worker

Age

Family status (i.e., married, single…etc.) (Donaldson); Atkinson; (Women's Income…); (Conference Board of Canada, Key Messages Section).

Other factors noted in the research consist of work-life balances and sexist bias. The choices made by the different genders reflect upon every aspect of the worker including promotions, wage increases, bonuses, and etc.

Analyzing data from different data shows a definite gap between the earning differentials between men and women in Canada. According to the Canadian 2006 census data, the Society for Canadian Women in Science and Technology (SCWIST) reports, "First, young women experienced no growth in median earnings during this period, even though their educational levels kept increasing," (Donaldson, ¶13) but median earnings for men increased slightly for the same 2000-2005 period. Both men and women experienced significant decreases in pay during 1980-2000. Using the data from the Canadian 2001 census, the median average pay for men was $29,276 and for women was $17,122 as revealed from the Canadian Association of Social Workers report, "Women's Income and Poverty in Canada"(Women's Income...,¶1). The average median for 2005 ranged from $37,680 for men and $32,104 for women according to information from the 2006 census. According to Rampell in the New York Times newspaper article, "Women earn less than men, especially at the top," 'the gap between men's and women's earnings narrows greatly when you adjust for factors like career path and experience. But at the top of the income scale -- jobs paying more than $100,000 -- the salary gap between equally qualified men and women is still vast" (Rampell, ¶1). The differential earning gap between men and women reflects that no matter what level the salary; gaps exist.

Education levels have led to numerous changes in reducing the gap between the genders vs. The gaps between the genders with less education. The Conference Board of Canada cites the following differences between the different levels of education or training and the differentials between the genders:

Women aged 25 to 29 holding a graduate or professional diploma and working on a full-time, full-year basis earned 96 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts in 2005.

Women with a bachelor's degree earned 89 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts.

Women with a registered apprenticeship or trades certificate earned only 65 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts.

Young women with no high school diploma earned 67 cents for every dollar earned by young men with the same level of education (Conference Board of Canada, Is the gender…Section¶4).

The exclusions to this are in service occupations, the females make 72 cents to the dollar and in managerial positions, females' make 86 cents to the dollar vs. males in the same positions.

The province in Canada, where the laborer resides, results in a difference in income and income differences between men and women. Women in the Ontario area have the greatest income followed by Alberta, British Columbia, Quebec, and the lowest income for women comes from the Atlantic regions. The gap between men and women is consistently lower for females and depends on the province. Alberta has the widest gap while Prince Edward has the lowest but the territories have less of a gap than the provinces.

The 2001 census showed differences between single women vs. single men, elderly women vs. elderly men, and lone parent women vs. lone part men.

Conclusion

The opinion of this researcher concludes that a definite differential between men and women in Canada exists and can be attributed to a wide variety of reasons or excuses. Whereas some reasons for the differential can be valid such as the loss of wages, increases, bonuses, and like due to giving birth and the resulting lost time from work, most of the reasons carry "no" validity at all. Women often settle for lower paying jobs to balance the time spent at work with the time spent raising a family. While the gap seems to be decreasing, significant changes need to be addressed and rectified to resolve the gender earnings gap.