The Case for Pay Equity - Submission to the BC Task Force on Pay Equity (Nitya Iyer, Chair)

The Case for Pay Equity: Submission to the BC Task Force on Pay Equity – 2 – THE GENDER PAY GAP Key parameters of the BC gender a more direct measure of discrimination in rates of pay gap pay per se. [...] Argu- as a result of different methods of calculating the gap ments in favour of pay equity policies are based on and differences in the variables included in the re- the presumption that the sex composition of jobs af- searchers’ models. [...] The contribution of occupation and tle effects of gender composition on wages see industry to the “explained” portion of the gender wage Macpherson and Hirsch, 1995) Canadian evidence is gap may capture some of the gendered devaluation of sparse. [...] First of all, the wage gap clearly This, however, is not the only problem in terms remains a problem for women in British Columbia, The Case for Pay Equity: Submission to the BC Task Force on Pay Equity – 6 – although the magnitude of this gap varies according to the gender wage gap although they will not elimi- to a number of factors including union status, age, nate the gender wage gap altogethe. [...] programs should, at the minimum: • Eliminate the devaluation of women’s jobs by • Apply to everyone, regardless of where they raising the pay of these jobs, not decreasing the pay work or the size of their employer to ensure fairness of other jobs.