In Canada, it’s taken over 20 years to close the gender wage gap by 8%, with 70% of the gap remaining unexplained. While Ontario has had the most advanced pay equity legislation globally for the past 30 years, the gender wage gap persists and from 2016 to 2021 census data, has widened as women’s employment and economic gains are sluggish in a post-COVID labour market.

Building upon the success of season one of the award-winning podcast, Level the Paying Field, season two launches April 25th. Exploring topics related to economics, equity, women, work and wage equity, in this season of Level the Paying Field, the Pay Equity Office (PEO) of Ontario convenes leading experts and renowned researchers to uncover the hidden biases that contribute to unexplained pay gaps.

“Gender bias is pervasive in our society” says Kadie Ward, Commissioner and CAO of the Pay Equity Office. “From who does what work, to parenting, to unpaid care work, we can see gender coded expectations everywhere and these create inequalities generally and in the labour market.”

Through the series, Ontario’s Pay Equity Office seeks to highlight how data and research can seed meaningful conversations around gender inequality and drive change.

“Each of our guests have experience in researching, analysing, creating and adapting policies to help address underlying stereotypes,” says Ward. “We’ve pulled this group of experts together to uncover the invisible drivers of the gender wage gap and, more importantly, shed light on how to confront and eliminate them.”

Join the Pay Equity Office 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.

Watch episodes of Level the Paying Field at www.levelthepayingfield.ca or listen wherever you download your podcasts.

Quick Facts:

  • Level the Paying Field is a six-part video series and podcast series covering topics related to economics, equity, women, work and money and explore the gender wage gap.
  • In 2022 the podcast was recognized with a Gold Quill Award of Merit from the International Assocation of Business Communicators
  • Level the Paying Field ranked in the top 100 podcasts in the Careers category in Canada.
  • The gender wage gap (GWG) is the difference between wages earned by men and wages earned by women. There are different ways to measure the GWG.
  • In Ontario, the GWG calculated on the basis of average hourly wages is 13%. This means that for every $1.00 earned by a male worker, a female worker earns 87 cents. Calculated using average annual salary earnings, the GWG is 25%, or 75 cents on the dollar. The gap is even wider for Indigenous women who earn 61 cents on the dollar, and racialized women who earn 62 cents.
  • Globally, calculated on the basis of average hourly wages, the GWG remains at 18.8%, ranging from 12.6% in low-income countries to 29% in upper middle-income countries.