Bill 222 seeks to close the gender wage-gap
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This article was published 06/04/2022 (422 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Everyone deserves equal pay for work of equal value. That is why I have introduced Bill 222 – The Pay Transparency Act, which would require employers to include pay information in publicly advertised job postings and require private sector employers with more than 100 employees to file a pay audit report with the pay equity commissioner, including information on gender, diversity, and pay of employees.
From our own community of Notre Dame to all of Canada, the gender wage-gap is demonstrated in lower wages for women everywhere. It’s time to close the gender wage gap, particularly where it is greatest — for Indigenous, newcomer and racialized women, and women with disabilities. As life keeps getting more expensive for working families we can’t ignore gender discrimination on the pay scale. Women make, on average, 75 cents for every dollar a man makes. Newcomer women earn 71 cents for every dollar a man makes; and Indigenous women make 65 cents for every dollar a man makes.
This bill is the first step to ensure fair pay for all women, gender diverse folks, and racialized groups. Public reporting of positions and pay by the private sector is an important step to help stop pay discrimination in the workplace. Conducting pay audits will make sure employers identify any pay gaps that exist because of gender, race and even disabilities. This bill will do exactly these things — but it will go even further. It will also prevent employers from seeking pay history about potential employees — this initiative will remove one of the tools employers use to pay employees less than they deserve. Bill 222 will also require employers to post salaries on job postings, so that people can accurately compare rates of pay for similar jobs so they can ensure they are being paid fairly.
Communities thrive when everyone is equal. One way we can start chipping away at the gender pay gap is to advance pay transparency and pay equity legislation. This legislation represents a key step forward in the actions necessary to begin closing the gap, which has become increasingly important as the economic impacts of the pandemic unfold. Unfortunately, the Progressive Conservative government spoke out against the bill during debate, but I hope that this will be the first step in the government eventually seeing the benefits of pay equity and lending its support to this bill in the future.
Please contact my office anytime by calling 204-788-0800 or emailing malaya.marcelino@yourmanitoba.ca
Malaya Marcelino
Notre Dame constituency report
Malaya Marcelino is the NDP MLA for Notre Dame.