Today, the Minister of Labour, Seamus O'Regan Jr., issued the following statement to recognize International Equal Pay Day:
"Today, we mark International Equal Pay Day to recognize the decades of hard-fought gains for women in the workplace. Unequal pay is one of the most persistent barriers to women's economic empowerment, their success at work, and our country's economic growth. This only reinforces how much work remains for gender equality. Women in Canada continue to earn less, making 89 cents for every dollar a man earns.
The Government of Canada is committed to closing the pay equity gap. Canada's Pay Equity Act came into force a year ago, and it is an important step forward. The Act requires federally regulated employers with 10 or more employees to take proactive steps to provide workers with equal pay for work of equal value.
We're also moving forward with new pay gap reporting measures under the Employment Equity Act. These measures will make Canada the first country in which pay information for federally regulated workplaces is made publicly available-going beyond gender to include Indigenous people, persons with disabilities, and members of visible minorities. Making our workplaces equitable means including everyone. And when you include everyone, you get the best.
Progress is never a given. It's going to take all of us-governments, employers and unions-working together to address the barriers that so many continue to face in being equally compensated for their work.
When all workers can count on equal pay for work of equal value, our economy grows stronger."
