Gender gaps still persist
One year ago, on March 5, 2023, SaltWire journalist Juanita Mercer won the National Newspapers Awards’ E. Cora Hind Award for her work on exposing the gender pay gap in her home province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
As International Women’s Day was recognized on March 8, work like Mercer’s is as important as ever.
PAY DISPARITY
Besides the national award, Mercer won a promise from the N.L. government to bring in regulations for its Pay Equity and Pay Transparency
Act by the end of the year. Mercer has been asking ever since for an update on the act, including this week, and disappointingly — infuriatingly — has not gotten much of an answer beyond being told regulations are bogged down by complexities involving different departments.
A 2023 report found that more than 50 per cent of women in the province make less than a living wage, and the province has one of the worst gender pay gaps in the country.
While that gap maybe narrowing elsewhere, a Statistics Canada study found Canadian-born women still earn 9.2 per cent less than their male counterparts.
Immigrant women, meanwhile, face additional barriers to success in the workforce.
... a Statistics Canada study found Canadianborn women still earn 9.2 per cent less than their male counterparts.
FURTHER BARRIERS
Lloydetta Quaicoe, of St. John’s, was a newcomer to Canada from Sierra Leone in 1982 when she noticed the challenges faced by immigrant families in this country.
With a PhD in education from the University of South Australia, Quaicoe put her expertise to work in her new home, interviewing children, parents, teachers and school administrators to discover what newcomer students needed to succeed.
From this study was born the not-for-profit organization Sharing Our Cultures, which supports immigrant students and their families and at the same time introduces diversity to the N.L. school system.
Another gender gap identified by Stat Can is in the trades. In Nova Scotia, for example, trades, transport and equipment operators have a 94 per cent male employment rate.
Vivian Dixon, of Beechville, N.S., has been working for the last 18 years to try and change that, serving as the program director for Women Unlimited. In partnership with the N.S. Community College, the program has expanded over the years and has guided thousands of N.S. women through 14-week courses that include everything from math upgrades to hands-on experience at job sites.
CREATING CHANGE
In recognition of International Women’s Day, SaltWire is also sharing the stories of other Atlantic Canadian women making a difference. Michelle AuCoin in Cape Breton, for example, helps to create opportunities for children with learning disabilities, while Jillian Kilfoil in Charlottetown has helped expand the Women’s Network P.E.I. and serve marginalized people in the province.
In Windsor, N.S., Angela Grant strives to predominately sell merchandise by Canadian-run women-led businesses via her shop Pearl and Nanny’s Fashion and Gift Boutique. She estimates 95 per cent of new products represent that demographic.
These are just a few examples of Atlantic Canadian women working to make their communities more equal, more diverse and therefore stronger.
As we recognize the accomplishments of these women, we are also grateful there are so many more across the region fighting inequality in their hometowns — because there is a lot more work to do.