Ontario's Equal Pay Day 2020: April 4
#ShowUsTheMoney

What is Equal Pay Day? Equal Pay Day ON 2020 Equal Pay Coalition Ontario EPC News Wage Gap News & Reports Equal Pay Day ON 2019 Equal Pay Day ON 2018  Equal Pay Day ON 2017 Canadian Coalition (CCEW) Canada's Equal Pay Day

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Equal Pay Day

What is Equal Pay Day?

Equal Pay Day illustrates how far into the next year a woman, on average, must work to earn the same amount a man-made in the previous year. They are marked around the world.

The Gap

• Calculating the Gap
• Myths About the Gap
• The Gap Across Canada

Ontario's gap is close to 30%. This gender wage gap in Ontario is one of the largest in the world! Pay discrimination is not limited to one career or demographic, it affects women of all ages, races, and education levels – regardless of their family decisions.

The Equal Pay Coalition's goal is a 0% gender wage by 2025. The coalition has outlined the 12 steps to achieve this goal.

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#EqualPayDay Ontario 2020: April 4

BPW members and allies from Canada's coast to coast joined the Equal Pay Coalition's first Equal Pay Day Virtual Rally on Saturday 4 April.

"Equal Pay Day draws attention to the gender pay gap – how much all women’s work is undervalued and underpaid relative to men’s. This year’s COVID-19 crisis highlights how women’s crucial work keeps our communities functioning.

Without women’s work, the economy doesn’t work. Women are dominating jobs on the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic – nursing, care work, cleaning, food services, retail and more.

At the same time, the pandemic has exposed the cracks in our social safety nets. Women face unique risks every day but especially under physical distancing directives.

But the COVID-19 pandemic has also shown that we can do things differently. Come plan a future that delivers economic security for women and real community care." ~ Source

• Equal Pay Coalition - Join the Fight! Equal Pay Coalition - Join the Fight!
• Equal Pay Coalition Co-Chairs Equal Pay Coalition Co-Chairs
• Women on the Front Lines Women on the Front Lines
• Women on the Front Lines Women on the Front Lines
• Gender Based Violence Gender Based Violence
• The Gender Pay Gap The Gender Pay Gap
• BPW Ontario First VP, Heather Ellis BPW Ontario First VP, Heather Ellis
• Where are you joining from? Where are you joining from?
• BPW Ontario Immediate Past-President, Maide Yazar BPW Ontario Immediate Past-President, Maide Yazar
• Which movements joined the rally? Which movements joined the rally?
• Pacific Association of First Nations Women Pacific Association of First Nations Women
• Equal Pay Day vs Working for Free Equal Pay Day vs Working for Free
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Rally MCs:

Fay Faraday & Jan Borowy, Co-Chairs, Equal Pay Coalition

Speakers included:

• Marie Clarke Walker, Secretary-Treasurer, Canadian Labour Congress
• Patty Coates, President, Ontario Federation of Labour
• Diana Day, Lead Matriarch, Pacific Association of First Nations Women
• Deb De Angelis, Regional Director & National Strategic Campaigns Coordinator, United Food & Commercial Workers Canada
• Aja Mason, Director, Yukon Status of Women Council
• Ontario Nurses Association
• New Brunswick Pay Equity Coalition

Past Equal Pay Day Photos

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Equal Pay Coalition Ontario

News and Updates

BPW Ontario is a founding member of the Equal Pay Coalition.

The Equal Pay Coalition was formed in 1976 as a coalition of organizations to seek the implementation of equal pay for work of equal value both through legislation and collective bargaining. The Coalition has over 39 constituent and partner groups which represent Ontario women and men who support equal pay for work of equal value."

Equal Pay Coalition EPD News/Updates

Equal Pay Coalition Webinar: Rising Together for a Just Economy: April 3, 2020

Webinar conducted on April 3, 2020 with the focus on Bringing a Gender Lens to the COVID-19 Crisis.

Download Webinar Slide Show

Equal Pay Coalition Consultation on Pay Transparency Regulations: 2019

• March 8, 2019: International Women's Day, Save the Date - April 9: Equal Pay Coalition News outlines 3 simple steps "to build a strong collective voice of women across the province", leading up to and including Equal Pay Day.
  
  
• March 21, 2019, Equal Pay Coalition Summary and suggested responses to the government’s Pay Transparency Act regulation consultation.
  
  
• March 22, 2019: Letter to Ontario Premier: Equal Pay Day 2019
  
  
• March 25, 2019: Ontario Federation of Labour Conference, Save the Date - April 9: Equal Pay Coalition News, "The current provincial government has taken many steps that erode protections against gender pay discrimination. Together we can send a strong message that the government must close the gender pay gap. In just 2 steps, you can help to build a strong collective voice for equality across the province."

 

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Gender Wage Gap News/Reports

April 18, 2018: Submission to Standing Committee on Social Policy Legislative Assembly of Ontario: Bill 3, An Act respecting transparency of pay in employment Bill 3 

 

BPWO President, Maide Yazar at Pay Equity Summit, Feb 28, 2018
MacLean's February 2018 Issue: Men Pay 26% More!

February 28, 2018: BPW Ontario President, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., attended a Pay Equity Workshop in Ottawa. Maide's Report: Participated at the Pay Equity Summit, a Federal Pay Equity Networking Meeting, held with 30 other organizations who are prominent advocates of eliminating the gender wage gap. Very excited as the federal work is launched on making sure the Government of Canada gets the proposed Pay Equity legislation right. Many learned lessons were shared. The sisterhood rocks. "We are here because most women cannot be here today". Many thanks to the Atkinson Foundation for funding the workshop and to Canadian Women's Foundation for organizing the event. 

BPWO President, Maide Yazar attending
Pay Equity Summit, February 2018

November 2017: Pay Equity Commission 2016-2017 Annual Report, marking the 30th anniversary of the Pay Equity Act and the establishment of the Commission. Research tells us that cultural and social biases continue to negatively influence how women are perceived at work. This includes how their work may be undervalued and thus underpaid as compared to their male co-workers, contributing to an unacceptably wide gender wage gap. Closing this gap is both a human right and an economic necessity for inclusive economic growth, especially given Ontario women’s educational attainments and labour force participation rates. 

August 25, 2016: News Release: Ontario Moving Forward to Close the Gender Wage Gap. "The Ontario government has released the final report from the Gender Wage Gap Steering Committee and will immediately start work on a plan to close the gap, create equal opportunities for prosperity and strengthen the economy by eliminating barriers that prevent women's full participation in the workforce." Thank you to BPW Ontario Past President/First VP BPW Canada, Linda Davis, for all her efforts on the Gender Wage Gap Steering Committee.

April 2016: Report: Every Step You Take: Ontario's Gender Pay Gap Ladder. Published by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ Ontario Office (CCPA - Ontario Office), author Mary Cornish, Research Associate for CCPA - Ontario Office and Chair of the Equal Pay Coalition.

October 8, 2015: Toronto Star, Editorial: We need action, not just talk, to close wage gap between men and women: "...Gender Wage Gap Steering Committee that will soon begin holding province-wide public hearings and consultations with businesses to find ways to close the gap...The committee includes some high-powered, highly-qualified people including ...Linda Davis, past-president of the Business and Professional Women’s Clubs of Ontario and a current board member of the Equal Pay Coalition. That alone speaks to the government’s seriousness to move on this issue." Complete Article.

April 20, 2015: Linda Davis, BPW Ontario's Past President, was appointed to Ontario's government new Gender Wage Gap Steering Committee. Click here to read the announcement.

April 2014: BPW spreads the news about the wage gap - click here to read the article about an Equal Pay 2014 gathering in London, Ontario.

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Past Ontario Equal Pay Days

#EqualPayDay Ontario 2019: April 9

• BPW Ontario and Equal Pay Coalition BPW Ontario and Equal Pay Coalition
• Linda Davis - Fanshawe College Linda Davis - Fanshawe College
• Linda Rice - BPW Ontario President Linda Rice - BPW Ontario President
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#EqualPayDay Ontario 2018: April 10

• BPW Barrie: Sharon Doran, Joanne Bullock, Katie Wilton BPW Barrie: Sharon Doran, Joanne Bullock, Katie Wilton
• BPW London: Doris Hall, Brenda Carpenter and friends BPW London: Doris Hall, Brenda Carpenter and friends
• Ontario's Child Care Initiative Announcement - Equal Pay: April 10, 2018 Ontario's Child Care Initiative Announcement - Equal Pay: April 10, 2018
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Equal Pay Day Ontario 2017: April 11

• BPW Bowmanville BPW Bowmanville
• BPW London: Linda Davis & friends BPW London: Linda Davis & friends
• BPW North Toronto: President Linda Rice and member Hatice Yazar BPW North Toronto: President Linda Rice and member Hatice Yazar
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