Closing the Wage Gap

Closing the Wage Gap

Closing the Wage Gap Presentation Overview: I. What is the Wage Gap? II. III. IV. The Cause and Contributors to the Wage Gap Why Address the Wage Gap? Benefits V. Wage Gap Five Year Action Plan Overview VI. VII. Everyone has a Role to Play A Winning Scenario

I. What is the Wage Gap? Wage Gap is defined as the difference between the average wages earned by men and the average wages earned by women. While no country, province, or jurisdiction has yet to eliminate the wage gap, workable solutions are being tested and documented.

Source: Statistics Canada CANSIM - Table 282-0072

Wage Gap vs. Pay Equity Wage gap and pay equity are frequently used interchangeably but they are not the same thing. They both relate to the same concern, that is the gap in earnings between men and women. Pay Equity is defined as equal pay for work of equal value. Pay equity is part of the solution to the wage gap.

II. The Cause and Contributors to the Wage Gap The wage gap is caused by outdated societal attitudes and beliefs about the place and value of women in the workplace. Contributors to the Wage Gap are: 1.Family Responsibilities 2.Job Clustering 3.Under-valuation of Traditional Female Occupations

Source: Report of the New Brunswick Wage Gap Roundtable, 2003

Contributor 1: Family Responsibilities Women are expected to care for the family whether or not they work outside the home. This may result in work-life balance conflicts. For example, due to family needs, women may: take jobs that do not compete with family time work fewer hours than men have more challenges committing to the overtime hours, travel or relocation often required for career growth

Contributor 2: Job Clustering More than one third of New Brunswick women work in only 10 different occupations. Many of these occupations employ traditional female skills and offer limited career opportunities.

Contributor 3: Under-valuation of Traditional Female Jobs In some cases, women s work is paid less than men s work of equal value. Pay equity addresses this issue by using gendersensitive job classification and pay systems.

III. Why Address the Wage Gap? Our population is aging and shrinking at a faster rate than the national average. Our economy is facing labour and skills shortages. Women who are not employed to their full potential represent more than just a wage gap they represent a productivity gap.

Women An Under-utilized Resource NB Labour Force Participation (2010) Men 68.1% Women 59.5% New Brunswick women have low rates of labour force participation (2.9 percentage points below Canadian average) The 11.8% Wage Gap is a proxy for the lost productivity of employed women

IV. Workplace Benefits Workplace Wage Gap Strategies Can: Increase retention and reduced employee turnover Lower absenteeism rates Decrease workplace stress Improve workplace morale Secure a stable workforce Solve workplace skills needs & shortages These benefits can lead to increased workplace productivity.

Benefits for the General Public Workplace wage gap strategies can: Increase levels of job satisfaction Improve employee health and well-being Increase sharing of family responsibilities Wider career diversity for women Obtain equal pay for work of equal value Address NB skills and labour shortages

V. Wage Gap Five Year Action Plan Overview Released in June 2005, the Wage Gap Five Year Action Plan addresses New Brunswick s looming labour and skills shortages by better employing a largely under-utilized resource women. As a result, New Brunswick will move toward the long-term goal of ensuring that men and women are economic equals.

Highlights: Wage Gap Five Year Action Plan Is a made-for New Brunswick solution; Addresses the cause and contributors to the wage gap; Is a partnership between government and stakeholders; Contains indicators that will be monitored and evaluated.

Strategic Framework Vision 4 Goals 12 Stakeholder Strategies Critical Outcomes Evaluation by 14 Indicators of Success

Wage Gap Action Plan: Vision Our vision is of a New Brunswick in which there will be full economic equality between working men and working women.

Wage Gap Action Plan: Goals 1. Change societal attitudes; 2. Increase sharing of family responsibilities; 3. Reduce job clustering of women; 4. Increase use of pay equity practices. The overall measure of success will be the reduction of the wage gap based on hourly wages.

Goal 1: Change Societal Attitudes Stakeholder Strategies Define a new set of attitudes; Publicize new attitudes; Promote new attitudes; Indicators of Success More positive attitudes on women s right to work outside the home; More supportive attitudes on sharing of domestic responsibilities; Increase % of women in decision-making structures and bodies;

Goal 2: Increase Sharing of Family Responsibility Stakeholder Strategies Adopt policies that balance work and family responsibilities; Expand flex-time/ part-time work options; Increase access to quality day care services; Indicators of Success Increase # of licensed daycare spaces and centers; Increase # of employersupported daycare services; Increase sharing of # of hours spent on family duties; Increase # of employers using family-friendly practices;

Goal 3: Reduce Job Clustering of Women Stakeholder Strategies Ensure girls explore a wider variety of career options from an early age; Re-orient/retrain women to move into a wider range of jobs; Create gender-inclusive workplaces; Indicators of Success Decrease in % of women employed in gender-clustered jobs; Increase # of female journeypersons; Reduced wage gap for community college grads;

Goal 4: Increase Use of Pay Equity Practices Stakeholder Strategies Encourage the use of pay equity tools; Celebrate leaders and winners; Share lessons learned and best practices; Indicators of Success Increase % of women in workplace decision-making positions; Increase # of employees paid under gender-sensitive pay systems; Reduced wage gap between gender-clustered jobs;

Wage Gap Action Plan: Critical Outcomes More positive attitudes about the place and value of women in the economy; More sharing of family responsibilities by family, workplace and government; More women in a wider diversity of occupations; More use of gender-sensitive pay practices.

Monitoring the Wage Gap Why should employers monitor their workplace wage gap action plan? Improved human resources in the workplace Collect benchmark data for future assessments Assessment of the effectiveness of policy changes and trends at the workplace Improvement of workplace efficiency

VI. Everyone has a Role to Play u Employer s role is to participate, publicize, and celebrate. u Government s role is to lead, educate, and support. u Public s role is to gain awareness, participate, and celebrate.

Employer s Role Participate Publicize Celebrate Suggested actions for employers: Familiarize yourself with the new set of attitudes Participate in wage gap public education campaign initiatives Conduct workplace wage gap assessments Recognize success stories and best practices in your workplace and within your peer community

Government and Partner s Role Lead Educate Support Suggested actions for government and partners: Familiarize yourself with the new set of attitudes Engage partners and stakeholders in the initiative Participate in wage gap public education campaign initiatives Promote the business case Recognize best practices and celebrate success stories

General Public s Role Learn more about the wage gap Create awareness through discussion of the wage gap and its issues Recommend or suggest more family-friendly workplace initiatives to your manager or supervisor Encourage youth to explore a wider diversity of careers Recognize best practices and celebrate success stories

VII. A Winning Scenario Employees win from positive changes in the workforce; Employers win by meeting their human resource challenges; Society wins by creating attitudes to support a progressive society; And the New Brunswick economy prospers

For More Information: Download your free wage gap employer toolkit by visiting the Wage Gap Reduction Initiative website at: www.gnb.ca/wagegap Or Contact Us: Toll-Free Line: 1-877-253-0266 Email: nbwagegap@gnb.ca