Systematic Gender Inequality

Paper Summary:

This paper asserts that, although some gains have been made, women in Canada still have not achieved equality in the Canadian labour market. It is argued that this reflects a lingering, pervasive and in fact systemic inequality of the sexes within society. Furthermore, this essay advocates that policy changes should be made at federal and provincial government levels to encourage change. Specifically, the author argues that affirmative action, by way of quota policies, must be introduced and that childcare needs to be regarded by policy makers as being of paramount importance.

From the Paper:

"On a simplistic level, the 1999 Workplace and Employee Survey tries to explain this differential by analysing its causes. For example, it found that 20% of the differential can be attributed to the fact that women primarily work in low-wage industries. Another 10% is attributed to the fact that women had on average 14 years of full-time experience, compared with 18 years of such experience for men. The latter is a socio-economic reality related to the demands of child-bearing, which are currently inadequately addressed by government policies. It was also found that the fact that more women worked for a part-time rate accounted for some 11% of the gap, as for obscure reasons, companies with a large part-time work force usually pay lower wages. Another 7% of the gap was attributed to 3 factors: the fact that women are less likely to work in self-directed teams (which are better-paid); the fact that fewer women work for foreign-owned companies, which pay higher wages; and the fact that less women work for wages that are tied to performance (which tends to result in higher pay) (Statistics Canada)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Agocs, Carol. "Canada's Employment Equity Legislation and Policy, 1987-2000: The Gap between Policy and Practice." International Journal of Manpower, 23.3 (2002): 256-275.
• Banting, Keith, Hoberg, George and Simeon, Richard. Degrees of Freedom: Canada and the United States in a Changing World. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1997.
• Department of Justice Canada. (1982). Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms." Retrieved from web site: http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/charter/.
• Fenwick, Tara. "What Happens to the Girls? Gender, Work and Learning in Canada's 'New Economy'." Gender & Education, 16.2 (2004): 169-185.
• L'Heureux-Dube, Claire. "Changing face of Equality: The Indirect Effects of Section 15 of the Charter." Canadian Woman Studies 19.1-2 (1999): 30-6.

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