International Equal Pay Day 2022: Learning how pay transparency could reduce the gender wage gap

By Harrish Thirukumaran

In 2022, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reported that for full-time employees, there is a 16.1% difference between annual median earnings of women and men relative to the annual median earnings of men. Compared with other countries, Canada has the eighth worst gender pay gap. Although progress has been made in Canada with new laws such as the Pay Equity Act, more needs to be done to close this gap here at home and elsewhere globally. It is the foundation for International Equal Pay Day that was created by the United Nations (UN). Commemorated on 18 September, it shines a light on the longstanding efforts towards the achievement of equal pay for work of equal value. Accordingly, it further expands upon the United Nations’ commitment towards human rights and against all forms of discrimination, including discrimination against women and girls.

Across all regions, women are paid less than men, with the gender pay gap estimated at around 20 per cent globally. Gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls continue to be held back owing to the persistence of historical and structural unequal power relations between women and men, poverty and inequalities and disadvantages in access to resources and opportunities that limit women’s and girls’ capabilities. Progress on narrowing that gap has been slow. While equal pay for men and women has been widely endorsed, applying it in practice has been difficult.

To ensure that no one is left behind, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) address the need to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. Furthermore, the SDGs promote decent work and economic growth by seeking full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value. Mainstreaming of a gender perspective is crucial in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Achieving equal pay is an important milestone for human rights and gender equality. It takes the effort of the entire world community. As hinted at earlier, there is still more that could be achieved. The United Nations, including UN Women and the International Labour Organization (ILO) invites Members states and civil society, women’s and community-based organizations and feminist groups, as well as businesses and workers’ and employers’ organizations, to promote equal pay for work of equal value and the economic empowerment of women and girls.

Even the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the gender pay gap in the healthcare sector. Women earn on average of 24 per cent less than peers who are men, according to a new joint report by the ILO and the World Health Organization (WHO).

This year, the UN will be observing this year with a webinar organized by the Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC) on Friday, 16 September 2022 from 9:30–10:45 EDT. This can be located at https://www.un.org/en/observances/equal-pay-day. It is titled Addressing the gender pay gap through transparency and information sharing. The EPIC is led by the ILO, UN Women, and partners. The Coalition’s goal is to achieve equal pay for women and men everywhere.

Other ways to support this global cause in your communities in Ontario and Canada could include assisting non-profits and other organizations that are part of these efforts. These include the Canadian Women’s Foundation and the Equal Pay Coalition.

So this year and onwards should be about learning how pay information can be a key solution in reducing the gender pay gap.

Written in September 2022