Level The Paying Field is a six-part series that seeks to uncover the invisible drivers of the gender wage gap. This show is hosted by Kadie Ward, Commissioner and CAO of Ontario’s Pay Equity Commission.
It’s taken over 20 years to close the gender wage gap by 8%. Progress is being made, and yet the gap persists in part because 70% of the gap remains unexplained. Join us in exploring the invisible drivers of the gender wage gap together with leading experts and renowned researchers.
Season two of Level the Paying Field seeks to uncover hidden biases in the labour market and illuminate how to confront and eliminate them. In order to level the paying field, join us in elevating the equity conversation to make the world a more equitable place for women to work, live and thrive and support closing the gender wage gap.
= PEO in the news =
Gender Equality for a Sustainable Tomorrow: How closing the STEM gap can support climate action
Women appear to be more action-oriented and solution-driven when it comes to climate change. But for climate action to be impactful, inclusive and meaningful, we must address the systemic barriers that prevent women from entering careers in STEM.
Gender Gaps in Wages and Pensions: A Canadian analysis of how to close them
We need to continue to call to attention to the contributions of women around the world. But we also need equal pay, better social protections and shared domestic work between men and women to address the gender wage gap’s compounding effects and the persistence of the gender pension gap.
Ontario’s Pay Equity Office Launches New Legal Resource
The Pay Equity Office is pleased to offer a new resource for compensation specialists, unions, legal professionals, and others who are interested in learning more about pay equity law in Ontario. The Selected Case Reference Guide is an annotated version of the Pay Equity Act with a curated selection of relevant tribunal and court caselaw presented alongside the section of the Act that it applies to.
Gender Pension Gap in Canada has not narrowed in 44 years
A new analysis published by Ontario’s Pay Equity Office (PEO) finds women in Canada, on average, received 18% less retirement income than men in 2020. This gap is three percent higher than the 15% gap observed in 1976, the earliest year for which data is available (Statistics Canada). While this Gender Pension Gap (GPG) has fluctuated over the decades, it has not narrowed.
Time to Care: Recognising the truth behind the economy of unpaid care
There have been longstanding gender gaps and norms around caregiving, and COVID-19 has laid bare the negative consequences of that. The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that unpaid care and domestic work by country is valued to be 10–39% of GDP. It has also noted that in some economies, unpaid care can contribute more to the economy than the manufacturing, commerce or transportation sectors.
= PEO submissions =
Submission to the Ontario Workforce Recovery Advisory Committee
Read the Pay Equity Office submission to the Ontario Workforce Recovery Advisory Committee. The committee’s mandate is to provide recommendations to position Ontario as the best place in North America to recruit, retain and reward workers. The committee will lead consultations and deliver a report with recommendations that address the complexities and opportunities caused and/or accelerated [...]
Submission to Ontario’s Task Force on Women and the Economy
Read the Pay Equity Office submission to the Ontario’s Task Force on Women and the Economy. The task force was established to help address the unique and disproportionate economic barriers women face – issues that have been heightened as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Task Force’s recommendations will be reflected in future policy initiatives that support women as the [...]
= Working with our partners =
Statistics Canada’s Census 2021 update reminds us that the Gender Wage Gap is complex
TORONTO, Sept. 18, 2023 /CNW/ - Using average hourly wages, Statistics Canada data from the Labour Force Survey unveils that in 2022, female employees in Ontario earned $0.87 (or 13%) for every dollar earned by [...]
Why is bias so difficult to tackle? What interventions actually work? Commissioner Ward joins the 2023 HRPA Summit to speak to DEI and HR priorities
Commissioner Kadie Ward was pleased to attend the 2023 HR Summit, Annual Meeting and Tradeshow hosted by Human Resources Professionals Association to speak [...]
The Impact of the Wage Gap on Canada’s Economy and Women-Identified Entrepreneurs, Canadian Women’s Chamber of Commerce (CanWCC) Panel Discussion
Commissioner Ward joined CanWCC with Janelle Benjamin the Founder & Chief Equity Officer of All Things Equitable Inc. , and and Allison Venditti, Founder of Moms at [...]
Women’s Worth: Challenging the status quo at the Dynamic Women Summit
Cutting across gender, race, and class while drawing from her own experiences, Kadie Ward, Commissioner and CAO of Ontario’s Pay Equity Commission, confronts [...]
Globe and Mail Women’s Collective Discussion on Women and STEM
Business leaders, including Commissioner Ward, gathered to have a roundtable discussion on the progress of gender inclusion and parity in the workplace, particularly [...]
International Women’s Day and Leader Talks with Anne-Marie Pham featuring Commissioner Kadie Ward
Women have been undervalued in the workplace for almost a century and a half. On this edition of the Leader Talks with Anne-Marie [...]
67th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)
Commissioner Ward attended the 67th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) to discuss bringing women and other marginalized groups [...]
Economic Developers Council of Ontario (EDCO)
Commissioner Ward was excited to join Sara Bentham and Dior Sarr to speak with Economic Developers Council of Ontario (EDCO) on the barriers facing [...]
Globe & Mail’s Women’s Collective Idea Exchange
Commissioner Ward was excited to participate in the Globe & Mail’s Women’s Collective Idea Exchange session BIPOC Women at Work – Overcoming barriers [...]
= All news and updates =
Gender Wage Gap in Ontario Varies by Municipality
On World Cities Day we reflect on the ways women across Ontario are uniquely impacted by the gender wage gap. The gender wage [...]
Statistics Canada’s Census 2021 update reminds us that the Gender Wage Gap is complex
TORONTO, Sept. 18, 2023 /CNW/ - Using average hourly wages, Statistics Canada data from the Labour Force Survey unveils that in 2022, female employees in Ontario earned $0.87 (or 13%) for every dollar earned by [...]
Introducing the new video series called Significant!
Kadie Ward, Commissioner and CAO of Ontario’s Pay Equity Commission, describes the difference between equal pay and equal pay for work of equal [...]
Pay equity is good for everyone – let’s make it a reality: Opinion
By Julie Cafley, PhD and Kadie Ward International Equal Pay Day, recognized by the United Nations and observed on September 18, acknowledges the crucial [...]
Ontario Pay Equity Office: Canada’s Gender Wage Gap has narrowed but the Gender Pension Gap has not
A new analysis published by Ontario's Pay Equity Office (PEO) finds women in Canada, on average, received 18% less retirement income than men in 2020. [...]
Addressing the gender pay gap and gender equality pushback
Addressing gender wage gaps with policy and technology can take many forms. Fundamental is the concept of “equal pay for work of [...]
Why is bias so difficult to tackle? What interventions actually work? Commissioner Ward joins the 2023 HRPA Summit to speak to DEI and HR priorities
Commissioner Kadie Ward was pleased to attend the 2023 HR Summit, Annual Meeting and Tradeshow hosted by Human Resources Professionals Association to speak [...]
The Gender Wage Gap: Explaining the Unexplained Season Two, Level the Paying Field, Launches April 2023.
In Canada, it’s taken over 20 years to close the gender wage gap by 8%, with 70% of the gap remaining unexplained. While [...]
Trades are for everyone! Commissioner Ward encourages young women to get consider a career in the trades at the Skills Ontario Young Women’s Conference.
Commissioner Ward kicked off the 24th Annual Young Women’s Conference with Skills Ontario and partners to build momentum for young women in trades [...]
