Equal Pay Day 2022

"Governments and employers have no excuse not to ensure equal pay for equal work. NUPGE and its Components continue to fight for equal pay for equal work — not only for our members but for all workers." — Bert Blundon, NUPGE Secretary-Treasurer

Ottawa (11 April 2022) — Tomorrow, April 12, marks Equal Pay Day in Canada. The day symbolizes how far into the calendar year the average woman needs to work to earn what men, on average, earned in the previous calendar year. In other words, women, on average, need to work almost 15.5 months to earn what men, on average, make in just 12 months.

Representing pay inequity, also known as the gender pay gap, Equal Pay Day is a day to bring attention to this persistent issue. 

Fight for pay equity ongoing 

Despite growing awareness, pay inequity continues to be a problem. 

The exact size of the gap depends on how you calculate it. And there isn’t just one pay gap — pay inequity is worse for women who are Indigenous, racialized, living with disabilities, immigrants or migrants, LGBTQI2S+, or elderly. Multiple forms of discrimination, in addition to gender, shape pay inequity. 

Pay inequity not only represents discrimination, but it is also a key contributor to economic insecurity.

Government role in advancing economic justice for women 

For this year's Equal Pay Day, the Ontario Equal Pay Coalition has issued a set of demands:

• Raise the minimum wage to a living wage.
• Mandate paid sick days for workers.
• Implement the Pay Transparency Act.
• Establish affordable, accessible public child care with decent wages and working conditions for staff.
• Rebuild the economy by funding public services and by providing health, community, and social services and education workers with decent wages and working conditions.

While the coalition’s demands are specific to Ontario, which is heading into a provincial election this year, the demands ring true across the country. 

Pay equity must be part of post-pandemic recovery

“We know that the COVID-19 pandemic has made existing inequalities worse, and that includes gender inequality,” said Bert Blundon, NUPGE Secretary Treasurer. 

The gendered impacts of the pandemic are something that NUPGE, along with many others, has been sounding the alarm on. Women are overrepresented in part-time, low-paid, and precarious jobs, which were hit hardest by the pandemic — both on the front lines and as sectors hit hard by closures. Between closures and caregiving responsibilities, women’s employment, overall, plummeted during the pandemic, with women who are Black, Indigenous, or people of colour (BIPOC) disproportionately experiencing job loss. Although there has been some rebound, job recovery among BIPOC women has been slower than for white women.

“NUPGE has been calling for a feminist economic recovery, which must include pay equity,” continued Blundon. “Governments and employers have no excuse not to ensure equal pay for equal work. NUPGE and its Components continue to fight for equal pay for equal work — not only for our members but for all workers.”

Learn more about pay equity here.