Group working toward achieving gender parity
Gender equality is not a new concept to Canadians, yet the country still lags when it comes to parity in the workplace. Lower incomes than men and low representation in leadership remain realities for working women.
Canada had the seventh-largest gender wage gap in the world in 2016, according to the United Nations. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reports that the wage gap in Canada amounts to 18.2 per cent of male median wages. Put another way, women earn about 18 cents less on the dollar than men.
In Canada, 13 per cent of corporate board seats are held by women, compared to the OECD average of 20 per cent. Little in the leadership landscape has changed over the past decade. If the current rate stays the same, it will be another 170 years before women reach professional parity.
“Progress is slow,” says Tina Strehlke, CEO of Minerva B.C., a registered non-profit organization that works toward achieving gender parity in B.C. “The bright light is that more organizations are paying attention to the issue and coming on side. It requires sustained attention, measurement, interest and continued focus.”
Strehlke has a unique perspective on the status of women in the workplace: Her mom was one of three female medical school graduates in the 1960s.
“She was a pioneer in that regard, a leader in her field in a maledominated sector,” Strehlke says. “We think of that generation of leaders who worked very hard to break barriers, but there are still barriers.
“The next generation of leaders are told in high school and university that you can do it all and have it all, but we’re not seeing that in the corporate world,” she says. “This is often seen as a women’s issue, but the research and the data show clear benefits for everyone when we make all people equal in the workplace and on the home front.”
Since 1999, Minerva has set out to fulfil its mission of elevating the visibility, influence, and contribution of women. Much of its work is focused on supporting girls and women in achieving their educational, career, economic, and leadership goals.
About five years ago, however, Minerva recognized that many corporations didn’t appear to be ready to embrace women’s contributions because “we’re still not seeing the balance of women represented in leadership,” Strehlke says.
The Scorecard grew out of an attempt to engage the corporate sector in the conversation, and to see how Minerva could support organizations in improving the advancement of women in leadership. That effort started with metrics, since there were no data specifically related to B.C. companies compared to their peers and to other provinces.
“This isn’t intended as a name and shame or calling people out, but as an engagement strategy,” says Strehlke, noting that in the Scorecard’s first year, 28 corporations were involved; now there are 50.
“We continue to put a benchmark out there for B.C. companies to see how they ’re faring,” Strehlke adds. “The Scorecard is a reflection of our province and the industries and sectors that drive it.”
Minerva also strives to increase representation of Indigenous people in the corporate sector.
There are a few key factors that help improve diversity and equality. One is having buy-in at the most senior level, which leads to parity becoming just as important as other operational goals and systems.
“It’s part of business as usual, like sales, marketing or a product launch,” Strehlke says. “It’s part of the business discourse and business dialogue, something we work on just like revenue, targets and profit.”
Then there are combined effects of measurement and transparency. Strehlke says that for companies to augment gender diversity, they need to have specific, measurable goals; it’s impossible to move forward without knowing where you’re starting.
“We have metrics to see if companies are publicly reporting or sharing on websites or in their annual report what they’re doing to advance women,” she says. “The more transparent organizations, even if the numbers are bleak, they’re saying ‘This is what we’re working on, these are our priorities to be more attractive to women and under-represented groups.’ Maybe they’re not there yet, but there’s a sincere effort to work on this. They can showcase themselves as a positive employer, a good place to work.”