By paNOW

Tackling the gender pay gap

Feb 20, 2018 | 9:00 AM

Women are still over-represented in lower paid jobs in the national workforce, according to the Provincial Council of Women of Saskatchewan.

Randi Arnot, council president and partner in the Prince Albert law firm Arnot Heffernan Slobodian, spoke after a recent survey found more than 60 per cent of Canadians believe men and women are not paid equally for the same amount of work. Over 80 per cent of Canadians surveyed thought there should be laws to guarantee equal pay for equal work.

“This is not a new topic,” Arnot told paNOW. “In the 1970’s the phrase was coined, ‘equal pay for equal work,’ and women responded, ‘great, when do we get equal work?’” 

Arnot said women tend to be over-represented in what she called “job ghettos;” areas of work that don’t have a clear path to advancement or are known to be jobs that don’t pay well.

“I’d say we’ve seen some improvements in pay equity…and the provincial government needs some bouquets for that,” Arnot said. “But, in the employment sector as a whole, there’s a general acceptance that more needs to be done.”

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The Maclean’s Insights West poll found over 70 per cent of workers in Saskatchewan and Manitoba do not think men and women doing the same job at the same skill level are paid equally in Canada. This was the highest percentage of all provinces surveyed.

Arnot said the concept of pay equity was just one factor, as women are still the primary caregivers in homes and take on the majority of domestic responsibilities, leading to a softened ability to put in hours at work. The Council of Woman is exploring solutions to these barriers by pushing for more flexible work hours, telecommution options and various possibilities for parental leave. The organization, according to Arnot, also wants workplaces to do more to improve female employee experiences, especially in male-dominated work areas where, she said, misogynistic attitudes prevail.

As for a women’s ability to break free from the futureless “job ghettos,” Arnot said more can be done to provide opportunities for advancement and challenging work assignments, and employers can do a better job of acknowledging women’s value in a company.

On a wider social level, Arnot had said change has to start in schools, before young women enter the workforce at all.

“In the school system I think is where we start,” she said. “There’s a tendency to teach girls to be less boastful, as a woman would see it, whereas a man would see that as being smart.”

–With files from Glenn Hicks 

brandon.graziano@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@princealbertnow