Pay Equity is “equal pay for work of equal value”. Pay equity has been recognized as a fundamental human right for many decades at the international level. In 1951, the United Nation’s International Labour Organization (ILO) adopted Convention No. 100, the Convention Concerning Equal Remuneration for Men and Women for Work of Equal Value. Since then, the Canadian government has enacted various forms of legislation and statutory mechanisms in the area of labour standards or human rights to address the problem of wage discrimination. In 1972, as part of the response to the Royal Commission on the Status of Women, Canada ratified the ILO’s Convention No. 100. Since the 1980s, almost all Canadian jurisdictions have dealt with pay equity in some manner using legislation or non-legislative approaches. Learn more about pay equity in various Canadian jurisdictions​.