Wage Gap Woes

The gender wage gap issue continues to receive much attention. On the one hand, the focus on the inequities of pay differences between male and female workers is a good thing. On the other hand, the fact that the pay gap divide continues to be an issue is exceptionally frustrating.

The differences in wages between male and female jobs, or male and female employees, is not a recent phenomenon. In Ontario, gender-based wage parity is legislated in several statutes, such as the Pay Equity Act and the Employment Standards Act. The latter, in Ontario, speaks to the requirement of equal pay for equal work. This means that a male person and a female person doing substantially the same job must be paid at the same rate for that job. Recent amendments to the Employment Standards Act (under Bill 148) identify that the words ‘substantially the same’ do not mean identical. The jobs can be similar, based on skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions.

The Pay Equity Act of Ontario speaks directly to the issue of the value of jobs based on a gender-neutral analysis of all jobs in an organization, based on skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions. This piece of legislation focuses on the value of jobs within an organization in order to address the inequality of employees in ‘traditionally’ male job classes being paid more than those in ‘traditionally’ female job classes.

None of this is new! The Pay Equity Act has been in place since the late 1980’s. The Employment Standards Act language referring to equal pay for equal work (prior to Bill 148) has been in place for decades as well.

Why are we still talking about this?

Apparently, not much has changed.

A recent headline, as reported by the CBC, provides an interesting view of the impact of budget-based decision-making on gender differences. The article explores a Swedish budgeting decision to clear snow-covered streets for pedestrians before clearing roads because there are more females than males who walk. The connections to wage gap parity may not be clear from the outset, but the article does explore how the Swedish model can be applied to the Canadian federal budget allocation process, based on the impact budget decisions have on female and male citizens.

Click here to read the article.

From this article we see that Canada holds a high ranking on the gender pay gap differentials. Again, this provides us with a clear indicator that the legislative approaches that are currently in place to address gender pay imbalances continue to be necessary and relevant. However, these approaches would benefit from some additional support and changes in decision-making perspectives.

Perhaps, as noted in the article, it is time to include a different approach that focuses on the impact of decisions made when preparing budgets and compensation plans.

What would happen if organizations were able to apply an impact analysis, based on gender, aligned with principles of pay equity and equal pay?

Maybe, just maybe, something might change.

 

Discussion Questions:

  1. As a Human Resources practitioner, how would you go about assessing the value of jobs using the principles of job analysis, in your current place of work?
  2. As an employee, what evidence is there to support wage parity or disparity in your current place of work?
  3. Provide an analysis that explores the pros and cons of using a decision-making process that includes gender impact, when establishing organizational budgets and/or compensation plans.

Quality of Job Evaluations

It is all in the job evaluation method.

Job well done - concept , boss showing thumb up to one of his employee in the office
Eviled/Shutterstock

In the HR industry we call Job Analysis (JA) the foundation of any HR Department. In a similar sense, then, Job Evaluation (JE) would be considered the foundation to the compensation system.

This video clip outlines the four most common methods of JE’s.

Click here to watch the video “Four Methods of Job Evaluation”

What is the purpose of job evaluation? According to the HR Council of Canada, “Job evaluation is the systematic process for assessing the relative worth of jobs within an organization.” And even more importantly it is “a comprehensive analysis of each position’s tasks, responsibilities, knowledge, and skill requirements is used to assess the value to the employer of the job’s content and provide an internal ranking of the jobs.”

Worth and value are the true purpose of doing a JE; it helps determine wages/salary, an important aspect of the compensation system. It is hard to imagine how an organization could survive long term without some kind of JE system in place. Unfortunately, though, many of them shy away from conducting a JE for many various reasons. New HR practitioners should become knowledgeable on how to conduct JEs in any organization to ensure their value and worth.

 Discussion Questions

  1. Compare and contrast the benefits and negatives of the four methods of job evaluation. Consider why you would choose one method over the other. Be prepared to defend your answer.
    Quantitative
    – Point Rating
    – Factor Comparison
    Non-Quantitative
    – Ranking or Job Comparison
    – Grading or Job Classification
  2. If you were the HR Director of a compensation department which JE system would you recommend to ensure your company is in compliance with pay equity legislation.

The Gender Gap Persists

Wage gap concept with blue figure symbolizing men and red pawn women
ibreakstock/Shutterstock

It seems we still have a long way to go, baby.

A recent in-depth study, published by the Globe & Mail, provides us with the statistical reality that the wage gap between male and female Canadian workers still persists.

Click here to read the study.

It is a bit disheartening to read that the issue of wage parity between genders has been ongoing for over twenty years. It seems that we can expect it to continue for the next twenty and beyond unless Canadian employers tackle this issue from a broader economic stance.

The article looks at numerous variables: provincially, nationally and globally. Unfortunately, Canada does not do well on a global level on this issue either. There are numerous explanations and graphs in this article that show not only why the wage gap exists, but also why it continues to persist. While education and access to certain positions in the workforce have increased for women, the opportunities for continuous earnings are not available for this segment of the working population.

An explanation for the continuing gap rests on the argument that women continue to take time away from full-time earnings potential in order to take on the role of primary care-giver for their children and families. Perhaps it is time to consider the monetary value of this role and provide compensation for the woman who takes on the role of primary parent. It might provide one step forward in closing this particular gap.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What impact does the long-term wage gap, based on gender, pose for the Canadian economy?
  2. What are practical steps that a compensation manager can implement in the workplace to close the gender wage gap?
  3. Do you expect that your gender will determine your pay as you launch your career? If not, why not?

Why Job Evaluation Matters

Workplace Gender Equality in a Business or Career
kentoh/Shutterstock

True confessions: As a female HR practitioner, I should not be surprised by the fact that women continue to be underpaid and undervalued in today’s workforce, but I am. Wage parity between male and female workers has been problematic for far too long. Unfortunately, this problem of wage inequity continues to be an issue in workplaces across the globe. As noted in a recent article providing an international perspective, the wage gap difference between male and female workers does not seem to be resolving itself any time soon.

Click here to read the article.

Q: What is the answer to this seemingly never-ending problem?

A: Job Evaluation.

Very simply, job evaluation offers any employer a tool, a methodology and a path to creating job equity using gender-neutral point systems that measure the value of work within any organization. While many employers in Ontario may balk at the implementation costs related to these systems, at the end of a job evaluation review, the employer can rely on a process that counter-acts systemic gender-based wage discrimination.

True job evaluation systems allow for the neutral review, measurement, assessment, examination and evaluation of work performed regardless of who is doing the work. Job evaluation should eliminate (or at least reduce) the need for a female worker to put herself through the rigors of demanding to be paid equally for work that her male counterparts are performing. If the system works, it will work for everyone, male and female alike.

The push for this change for wage parity started decades ago.

It’s time to make it happen.

Discussion Questions:

  1. In your opinion, why are employers resistant to implementing job evaluation systems voluntarily?
  2. What are the benefits to an employer of maintaining wage inequality between male and female workers?
  3. If you had to fight for a wage increase based on gender inequality – what steps would you take to make it happen?