The OFL joined with anti-poverty groups and other pay equity advocates to echo the call of the Ontario Equal Pay Coalition’s 2008 Framework for Action. The OFL made a submission to the Ontario Gender Wage Gap Strategy to call on the government to commit to a plan that would close Ontario’s 31.5% gender pay gap by 2025, in a manner similar to that outlined for making Ontario accessible under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.
The OFL submission argued that it is essential that meaningful action-oriented steps be taken to end gender pay discrimination and inequality in Ontario.
To date, governments and businesses have resisted paying women’s work what it is worth. The OFL argued that it is unacceptable to use uncertain economic times to entrench women’s pay inequality and to make matters worse for women by creating more precarious and low paid work, rather than full time, secure, stable employment, with benefits and opportunities for advancement.
Women have traditionally earned less than men, as documented by numerous studies on the matter spanning decades. Further studies confirm the continuing gap in wage differential between women and men – on average, women made 68.5 cents for every male dollar in 2011. Studying the effects of gender pay discrimination is an important element to drive awareness of the need for change and to uncover the structural and systemic root causes of the existent gaps. Targeted action aimed at closing the gender wage gap is long over due.
Click here to download the OFL’s full submission, “Closing the Gap: A Workers’ Agenda for Pay Equity.”
