Gender pay gap in Quebec - STRAIGHT OUT OF CEGEP OR UNIVERSITY, WOMEN EARN LESS THAN MEN
MONTREAL, June 9, 2022 /CNW Telbec/ - "Although there are now more young women in Quebec graduating with a postsecondary diploma or degree than their male counterparts, they continue to be paid less, even when many of the factors that contribute to labour market inequality, such as having children, are removed from the equation," said Emna Braham, Deputy Director of the Institut du Québec. This is one of the eye-opening findings of a study released today by the Institut du Québec and the University of Toronto's FutureSkills Research Lab, as part of the Research Initiative on Education + Skills.
In more specific terms, the study shows that the average pay gap between women and men who have a similar career path and work full time stands at 9% the first year they finish their CEGEP or university education. And the gap only widens throughout their early career, reaching 16% five years after graduation.
Among the highest-earning graduates, i.e., those in the top 10%, the gender gap is particularly acute at 13% one year post-graduation and 19% five years down the road.
"In conducting this analysis, we had access to a new source of data, which allowed us to map out graduates' academic trajectory over time and cross-reference this information with their earnings," explained co-author Annie Pan. "We were also able to isolate the effect that certain factors might have on earnings, including the level and field of study, the chosen line of business and whether or not there were any dependent children in the household."
The report also drives home the point that, from the beginning of their career onward, female CEGEP and university graduates find it harder to climb the ranks and land the best-paying jobs. "Contrary to popular belief, women don't bump up against the 'glass ceiling' at the midpoint of, or later on in, their career when it comes to higher-profile and higher-earning positions. This downward pressure is something they have to contend with every step of the way," Braham said.
The choice of employer also seems to play a role. Women are less likely to work for organizations that pay well and are often confronted with corporate practices that are not amenable to their career development. Likewise, whether or not women have children, the expectation that they may eventually have family responsibilities to fulfil, as a parent or caregiver, and the mental strain this implies, appear to influence the decisions they make. In other words, they tend to seek out employers and industries where work-life balance is more of a priority.
Although the gender pay gap in Quebec narrowed significantly between the 1960s and the 2010s, progress in this regard has since stalled. This clearly indicates that the measures that have thus far been introduced to address inequality, including pay equity legislation and family-friendly workplace policies (focusing on such issues as child care and parental leave), are not enough on their own.
Given these findings, the study's authors have put forward a number of potential courses of action that can be explored to tackle economic disparities between women and men:
- Modernize family policies so that family responsibilities are shared more evenly by women and men. One option to be considered would be to increase the number of weeks of parental leave available to fathers who wish to spend more time as the primary caregiver for their children. This type of leave would help them feel more confident in their parenting skills, give them a better understanding of the workload involved and, over the longer term, foster a more balanced approach to sharing domestic and family tasks.
- Adjust the assistance available to businesses to provide better support for human resources management, thus making it possible to 1) introduce inclusion and diversity measures; and 2) support career development, especially through on-the-job training opportunities for women.
- Set an example moving forward in terms of female leadership by pushing for a better gender balance among the positions of power in government corporations and other public- and parapublic-sector organizations.
- Implement career support programs to empower women to rise to the highest-paying C-suite roles.
- Test innovative new approaches to setting wages in a way that is less detrimental to women.
- Help offset the digital literacy gap between women and men by developing more inclusive learning methods.
Coefficient of interest (represented as a percentage) representing the impact of gender on annual employment income based on the following characteristics: level and field of study, employer's line of business, average number of children under 17 years of age, marital status, immigration status, age of postsecondary graduation, disability status and multiple jobholding.
The original report (in French) can be downloaded here: Écarts de revenus au Québec – Dès leur sortie du cégep ou de l'université, les femmes gagnent déjà moins que les hommes.
The Institut du Québec is a non-profit organization that conducts research and analysis on contemporary socioeconomic issues in Quebec. The IDQ's focus is on providing public authorities, the private sector and civil society with the necessary tools to make informed decisions and thereby help to build a more dynamic and prosperous society.
institutduquebec.ca | @InstitutduQC
The Research Initiative on Education + Skills is an innovative collaborative policy research initiative led by the University of Toronto's Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources. The objective of REIS is to access, analyze and mobilize data related to the education, skills and labour market outcomes of Canadians to inform policy development. RIES is a subsidiary of the FutureSkills Research Lab at the University of Toronto.
SOURCE Institut du Quebec
Liette D'Amours, Media Relations Officer, 514-649-2347, [email protected]
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