Pay equity guarantees that a person’s salary is equal to that of another person in a job of equivalent value in the same company, even if positions are different (CNESST)1. Its implementation is still struggling to become widespread in Quebec, where only 76.2% of companies stated in 2023 that they had carried out a first pay equity evaluation, and 53.1% a second.2
Yet pay equity is essential to achieving gender equality, as it reduces the pay gap between male-dominated sectors and those traditionally identified with women, which are often undervalued due to gender discrimination.
The emergence of the Pay Equity Act: a long struggle supported by feminist movements
Introduced in 1996, Quebec’s Pay Equity Act ensures equal pay for jobs of equal value, regardless of gender, in companies with more than 10 employees. It is regularly revised, most recently in 2019.
It may seem an ordinary law, but its adoption was the fruit of a long struggle that began in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1951. The International Labour Organization (ILO) proposed, for the first time, to regulate gender disparities in the workplace worldwide with the Equal Remuneration Convention (C100).
This convention was largely pushed by Western social and feminist movements in the wake of the Second World War, during which women took up industrial and wartime jobs in place of men in combat and demanded recognition of their work and fair remuneration. A scandal at a time when men are assigned to the productive sphere -work- and women to the reproductive sphere -home-!!
The notion of pay equity in Canada: a difference at federal and provincial levels
Canada did not ratify the C100 Convention until 1972, and federal legislation was proposed in 1977 thanks to the efforts of the Ligue des droits et des libertés. The League campaigned for the government to move beyond defending the rights of the individual to those of society as a whole3. The approach remains individual-centric, however, as it is “complaint-based”4. In other words, a company doesn’t prevent pay inequity, it responds to it on a case-by-case basis if a woman points out a pay gap. This approach is incompatible with systemic change! That’s where Quebec comes in…
Faced with the ineffectiveness of the reactive complaints-based approach, provincial governments committed themselves to adopting proactive participatory legislation. Quebec led the way in 1996 with the adoption of the Pay Equity Act, once again thanks to social and feminist movements. The 1990s were a period of severe economic recession. On May 26, 1995, hundreds of Quebec women, chanting the slogan “bread and roses” inspired by the 1912 American textile workers’ strike, left Montreal for a 10-day march to the National Assembly in Quebec City. They demand their rights and fight against women’s poverty5.
A lever against sexist discrimination in the workplace
The need for this type of legislation in Western countries stems from the intrinsic presence of gender-based violence (GBV) and sexist discrimination, rooted in our patriarchal system. Such violence and discrimination result from the oppression of women and gender minorities in all spheres of life. They are described as systemic, because they are interconnected, stemming from our oppressive social organization and contributing to its maintenance.
On the job market, many forms of gender-based violence against women have been identified6, but this article focuses on the impact of gender discrimination in the wage gap. You can learn more about the links between gender and economic violence in this other article written by the Women’s Y of Montreal.
According to the Canadian Human Rights Commission, “discrimination is an action or decision that has the effect of treating a person negatively, because of one or more of his or her identity characteristics”. When it comes to pay equity, sexist discrimination is based on prejudice and stereotypes about women. These give rise to cognitive biases, which are “mental shortcuts that automatically lead to snap judgments, lacking impartiality and objectivity”.7 Whether intentional or unconscious, these biases have an impact on the way pay levels are determined for women. For example, patriarchal society assumes that women prioritize their children over their careers and therefore don’t fully commit to their working lives. This is one of the explanations for wage inequalities between women and men in patriarchal societies.
The consequences of gender discrimination in the workplace
Bias perpetuates the idea that there are traditionally masculine and feminine professions, such as mechanics and nurses. The value given to the responsibility and effort required to hold a job is then associated with so-called natural skills in men and women. It is precisely this gender-based discrimination that has contributed to the creation of “pink ghettos in blue-collar jobs”».8
According to Statistiques Québec, in 2023, only 6.8% of jobs in transportation, machinery and related trades will be held by women. By contrast, 73.5% of positions in teaching, law, social services, community and government services sectors are held by women. The same gaps are found in the natural and applied sciences, with 77.2% of positions held by men. On one hand, women are under-represented in certain fields of employment, and on the other, we see a dynamic of devaluing and diminishing recognition of their work and skills. However, a profession has neither sex nor gender.
It is precisely to deconstruct these sexist patterns, which still influence and structure the Western workplace today, that Canada is implementing pay equity regulations. It also funds initiatives in the various provinces, notably Quebec, to educate about gender inequalities and support girls who wish to pursue careers in so-called masculine fields, as the Montreal YWCA does. The long-term aim is to increase the representation of women in these professions. This is the case, for example, of the Agir pour l’égalité socio-économique project, which aims to eliminate gender-based violence in universities, so that everyone can move into the profession they want!
Explaining, applying and enforcing the law
Passed unanimously by the National Assembly on November 21, 1996, Act E-12.001, or the Pay Equity Act, aims to ensure and protect “the right of persons working in predominantly female jobs to receive equal pay for work of equal value in the same enterprise as persons working in predominantly male jobs” (CNESST)9.
It’s important to distinguish pay equity from pay equality, which consists in guaranteeing equal pay for equal or identical work. The Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST) is the body entrusted by the Quebec government with the application of this law. It is still fighting today to ensure that these benefits are passed on to the province’s citizens.
Employers, unions and women were consulted in the drafting of a consensus text. By drafting briefs, each group specified what the law could or could not include, according to their employer and wage readings of the world of work. All companies in the private, public and community sectors with 10 or more employees are required to apply the law. The organization must conduct an audit to determine whether one or more forms of sexist discrimination are present in the company’s pay practices, with a view to correcting them.
The different stages of the pay equity process
- The initial exercise
The exercise involves identifying the company’s female- and male-dominated jobs. The value of these jobs is then assessed according to factors established by law. These factors, which characterize the missions and tasks of each job, include physical effort and intensity, mental and emotional effort, working conditions, required qualifications and job responsibilities. This evaluation by factor enables employer to obtain the final scores for each job.
- Identifying and correcting pay inequities
The company must compare salaries and re-establish equity if differences between male-dominated jobs and female-dominated jobs of equal value are found. It is people in so-called female-dominated jobs who will benefit from the wage gap correction.
- Assessment, a regular and necessary exercise
To maintain pay equity between different positions, pay equity audit exercises must be organized every 5 years, in order to adapt to changes in positions and missions. Employers are required to post the results of these various exercises for public consultation by employees.
- Employer Declaration of Pay Equity (DEMES)
The final statutory exercise is the Employer’s Declaration of Pay Equity. Companies with 10 or more employees must report on their pay equity work to the CNESST, by submitting their DEMES.
The diversity of the law’s pay practices
As an employee of a company or organization, you can take part in the pay equity process. Indeed, the law is participatory, and the YWCA has put together a list of ways for you to get involved:
- Set up pay equity committees within companies;
- Give your opinion during employer’s consultation at the time of the initial exercise;
- Support employers by providing a description of the actual mission and characteristics of the position;
- Formulate comments or request additional information following publication of the results of the various exercises;
- Call on the CNESST for any additional support.
CNESST offers telephone consultation services as well as online training by specialized advisors. These services are available to both employers and employees. If the right to pay equity is not respected, it is also possible to file a complaint anonymously with the organization. To resolve the dispute, CNESST offers mediation between the parties involved. If no agreement is reached, an investigation of the company’s work is set up. After drawing up a report, a final decision is rendered. The CNESST will then verify that the company has properly applied the wage adjustments imposed.
Progress in pay equity in today’s Canadian society
According to the World Economic Forum in 2023, it would take 169 years to eliminate the global economic gender gap. While the problem is not uniquely Canadian, the country does not score well on this subject! It ranks 36th on the economic equality scale, while it ranks 1st (alongside 25 other nations) when it comes to educational equality.10
CNESST’s awareness campaign L’équité salariale, c’est une priorité. launched in March 2024, testifies to the low level of interest in the subject among companies. However, more and more companies see that it as an added value for attracting and retaining employees!
Pay equity in Quebec in a few facts and figures
Let’s take a quick look at pay equity in Quebec:
- In 2021, women earned on average 91% of men’s hourly wages.
- The gap is even worse in several fields such as science, social services and agriculture, where women’s wages are 28% lower than men’s.11
- The gap increases with age.12
- In Canada, people from the 2SLGBTQIA+ community earn less than heterosexual people, particularly bisexuals.
- Between 2015 and 2018, bisexual men had a median income of $39,400 and bisexual women $38,500, compared with $61,400 and $47,300 for heterosexuals.
- Indigenous women and immigrant women who arrived as adults observed greater gender wage gaps than those born in Canada or who came as children.13
Pay equity must be viewed from an intersectional perspective, as people from the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, indigenous people and people with disabilities are even more disadvantaged. Nevertheless, very few – if any – figures bear witness to this diversity in Quebec, nor is it present in the Pay Equity Act.14
Implementation of the law in Quebec is still uneven, and wage gaps between men and women persist. Although more and more companies are recognizing the value of this law in attracting and retaining talent, efforts are still needed to eliminate sexist discrimination and guarantee genuine equity in the workplace. By rigorously applying it, not only will pay inequalities be corrected, but it will also contribute to wider systemic changes in society, such as the valuing of women’s work.
