Calgary Herald

Companies told to ‘walk the talk’ on pay equity this Women’s Day

Host of YW Calgary points to recent study highlighti­ng city’s wage-gap issue

- EVA FERGUSON eferguson@postmedia.com

As the daughter of immigrants from India and working her way through Alberta’s male-dominated oilpatch, Rajan Sawhney has struggled through her fair share of discrimina­tion in the workplace.

From racist comments from coworkers surprised that she spoke English so well, to companies that refused to pay her the same wage as her male counterpar­ts, Sawhney never gave up, taking it upon herself to simply educate those around her.

Now as vice-president of business developmen­t for Res Mod Man Reservoir Modelling and Management, the 47-year-old mother of four is determined to send a message as host of the YW Calgary Celebrates Women event Thursday for Internatio­nal Women’s Day.

“It’s time companies start walking the talk,” Sawhney said, pointing to recent studies that say Calgary has one of the largest pay gaps in Canada, with only 32 per cent of management jobs being held by women.

“Working women bring so many amazing skills to the table, they are problem-solvers who are always managing so much. And those skills are transferab­le.”

According to a recent study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternativ­es, Calgary ranks near the very bottom of the best cities in which to be a woman in Canada, placing 23rd out of 25 of the country’s largest metropolit­an areas.

But diverse groups, Sawhney argued, are a “compelling demographi­c” that cannot be minimized.

“By 2020, Canada will welcome one million new immigrants, and half of them will be women. Organizati­ons need to understand that gender parity is something they need to get on board with quickly.

“They need to be educated and adopt policies that will promote women quickly and seamlessly. We need a different perspectiv­e, we need a global perspectiv­e and people who understand different ways of thinking.”

In addition to equal pay for equal work, Sawhney said companies also need to be more flexible for women who are mothers, doing all they can to support their efforts to balance their roles as mothers and contributo­rs to the workplace.

“As a working woman you have to be on top of your game, you have to deliver, you have to meet your objectives, your targets.

“But as a mother, you also have another full-time job at another location. That’s a struggle for all women who are mothers.”

Thursday’s YW Celebrate event will host an evening reception in honour of Internatio­nal Women’s Day at the YW Calgary at 320 5th Avenue S.E., recognizin­g the achievemen­ts of women and raising awareness around issues of gender parity and employment equity.

Funds raised from the event will enable YW Calgary to provide programs and services that support women to secure and maintain sustainabl­e employment through the YW Women’s Employment Resource Centre.

Along with her work as a senior profession­al in the oil and gas industry, Sawhney is also an activist and engaged volunteer, raising funds for different nonprofit groups. She recently served as senior vice-president of the Sikh Society of Calgary as one of the first women to serve in an executive capacity over the society’s 40-year history.

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