A substantial compensation gap persists between men and women in Canada, according to a new study by Leger Research commissioned by ADP Canada.
The results, which were released on Thursday, revealed that women continue to earn less than men in salary. Based on self-reported numbers, the study found that women earned an average pre-tax salary of $51,352 in 2019, while men reported an average pre-tax salary of $67,704 – a gap of 24 per cent.
Also, Alberta women were most likely to have left an organization due to a colleague of equal standing but different gender receiving greater compensation (12 per cent compared to national average of eight per cent) and they were the most likely to believe parental leave has restricted their career growth and financial compensation (52 per cent compared to 31 per cent average).
“A substantial compensation gap persists between men and women in Canada – a gap that doesn’t entail salary alone,” said Natalka Haras, Legal Counsel at ADP Canada, in a statement. “The workforce of tomorrow is aware today to look for gender biases in companies’ practices and policies. For organizations to succeed in attracting and retaining the very best of workers, they will need to be transparent and take the proactive steps required to achieve pay equity and equality,”
When examining additional compensation (bonuses, profit sharing), men reported receiving over double the amount that women received. In 2019, men received an average of $7,646 in additional compensation, while women received $3,250. This marked a 25 per cent increase for men and a 17 per cent decrease for women, when compared to 2018, said the report.
The report said 68 per cent of working Canadians believe pay equality is a priority for the management of their workplace. However, men are more likely to believe their organization walks the talk, with 79 per cent of men believing their workplace compensates women and men equally, while only 67 per cent of women believe the same.
The report also said Millennials are most likely to switch employers if they were to find out pay equity is not being achieved (49 per cent); men are more likely to be a manager or executive in their workplace (28 per cent of men were managers or executives, compared to 19 per cent of women); and women outnumber men in the Healthcare sector (19 per cent vs. five per cent men), while men are significantly more likely than women to be working in the Technology/IT industry (11 per cent men vs. four per cent women) and Manufacturing (10 per cent men vs. three per cent women).
