Gender Pay Gap: men, women differ over seriousness of issue, but back legislative measures for equal pay

As issues of gender balance and representation are tackled in boardrooms and senior finance offices in the public and private sectors, the gap between what men and women earn for doing the same work is never far from the conversation.

But is it a real problem? And if so, is there support for a fix? The answer to the first question, according to a national public opinion survey of employed Canadians by the non-profit Angus Reid Institute, is “it depends”. The answer to the second, is largely “yes”.

While four-in-five working women (79 per cent) say the gender pay gap is a “serious issue” in this country, only half of working men (51 per cent) say the same.

That said, seven-in-10 (including majorities among both genders) say an equal pay law that certifies companies with more than 25 employees are paying men and women close-to-equal wages for close-to-equal work is something they would support.

Overall, while the majority of working people in this country say they are compensated fairly (62 per cent do), a significant segment of one-in-five (18 per cent) say that a gap in pay based on gender does exist in their own workplace. Women are more likely to feel this way (21 per cent) than their male colleagues (13 per cent).

More Key Findings:

- Employed Canadians are more inclined to believe that the gender pay gap has been shrinking (53 per cent) over the past decade, rather than growing (13 per cent), while a significant proportion say it remains the same (36 per cent).

- Women and men disagree about many aspects of the modern workplace. Across all age groups, male workers are at least twice as likely as their female peers to say that any gap in pay is based on the decisions that women make, rather than discrimination.

- Seven-in-10 employed women (72 per cent) also say that their gender is held to a higher standard in the workplace, compared to just one-in-three men (32 per cent) who agree.

- In areas where female workers disagree, views are largely driven by their political beliefs. Conservative-leaning women are more than three times as likely to say that the gender pay gap is drive by women’s choices, and are much less likely to say that women are held to higher standards than men in the workplace (though a majority still do)

The full poll can be viewed at www.angusreid.org/gender-paygap. Editor:

Having recently completed my income tax return for 2018, I noticed a significant increase in Saskatchewan PST charges. With the current backlash against the Federal Carbon tax led in large part by the Provincial government, I decided to do some comparing.

In the spring of 2017 the Saskatchewan Party cancelled the “purple gas” benefit for farmers, and also reduced the rebate on farm dyed diesel, in total, projected to bring in an extra $40 million per year.

That spring also saw an increase in the PST from 5 per cent to 6 per cent, but more importantly a broadening of the application base, overall suggested to bring in another $500 to $700 million per year. I personally paid between $4,000 and $5,000 Saskatchewan PST in 2018, operating a small farm.

A large increase in the Saskatchewan PST is seen on newly added farm insurance premiums.

The PST base was also adjusted to include: restaurant meals, children’s clothes, transportation services, rental equipment and housing repair and construction, to give a short list.

Many economists and politicians, including Preston Manning, from his conservative “think tank,” agree that a tax on carbon is the most effective way to adopt a market-based mechanism to reduce emissions. It will encourage people to realize that they are using a non-renewable resource and to consider alternatives in future.

The $600 per farm estimated cost of the new Federal Carbon Tax levied on the 60,000 Saskatchewan farms will cost us approximately $36 million in the province. That is only one/20th of the increased Saskatchewan PST Tax assessment and is largely rebateable. It will increase, but the rebates are designed to as well. The irony of the protest is hard to escape.

As a citizen of one of the richest countries in the world, I for one, do not mind making a contribution to the reduction in carbon emissions. It seems the least we can do to ensure our children’s future. The cost is much less than the current Saskatchewan government’s increased sales tax levies, which are not rebateable!