I saw this online this morning and am shocked that after all these years, we STILL haven't "come a long way baby."
THE CANADIAN PRESS
OTTAWA - A new report says women are still getting paid less than men, regardless of talent, education or experience. And the report by the Canadian Labour Congress says women who put off starting a family so they could earn a degree and build a career over the last 10 years are actually worse off than they were before.
It says the wage gap between them and their male counterparts has grown. The CLC report, coinciding with International Women's Day on Saturday, found that women in Canada who worked full-time, full-year jobs in 2005 earned just 70 cents for every dollar earned by men.
The report says full-time working women earned an average of $39,200 in 2005 compared with $55,700 for men - a wage gap of $16,500.
The report says full-time working women earned an average of $39,200 in 2005 compared with $55,700 for men - a wage gap of $16,500.
There were two times more men earning over $60,000 a year than women, and far more women than men worked at jobs that earned less than $35,000. The majority of people working for minimum wage were women. In 2005, 11 million women and 11.8 million men filed income tax returns. Over 40 per cent per cent of the women who filed fell below Revenue Canada's low-income cut-off and did not have to pay taxes, compared with 22 per cent of the men who filed.
"As the report shows, the jobs women hold in Canada today mean they get paid less," the labour congress said in a release. "These jobs also mean fewer women are able to access benefits through the federal government's Employment Insurance program. "It means fewer women have the savings they need when they retire." The group notes that the wage gap between women and men is smaller in unionized workplaces. The report makes several recommendations:
-Change employment standards so that full-time hours and part-time hours get paid the same when the same work is done.
-Raise the minimum wage to at least $10 an hour.
-Improve public pension plans so women, who live longer, aren't penalized for taking time away from the workforce to care for children.
-Improve access to quality and affordable child care; the report says two-thirds of women with children under the age of six are working outside the home.
"Canadians don't expect their daughters to earn less than their sons," the congress says. "They don't want the money they pay to send their daughters to university to count for less.
"But unless things change, that's what we have to look forward to."
Comments?
12 comments:
Leslie, this is very interesting. In many ways, women are responsible for this. I am a member of the BCGEU which used to be the strongest union in British Columbia. Do you remember when the BCGEU shut the whole province down? They stared the government down, and the union won. The government blinked first. We had tough union negotiators.
The union negotiators we have now are all women, and they actually negotiated a 4.06% pay reduction for us four years ago. Can you even imagine? They then had the gall to stand in front of a union meeting and cry that they had no choice. The men would not have done that.
I am one of the few people who did not ratify that agreement, and I am glad. I could not sign my name to an agreement that would give me a reduction in pay. The union membrs did not have to ratify the agreement, and when they're crying in the beer now, I remind them of that.
You get what you ask for, and that includes women! Unfortunately, when women are strong, they are often called b*tches. Look at Hillary Clinton. She is the only candidate suitable for the job as President, but because she is a strong woman, people call her shrill, tough, etc.
Oh, don't even get me started. :-)
My sentiments EXACTLY!! I would never have ratified an agreement like that, either! Why do women act like a bunch of sheep? Because they're so afraid of being called b*tches, and worse. But if they continue like this, things will get even worse! The current generation of working women have no idea what "our" generation went through in order to try to get equal rights. Perhaps a women's history course should be mandatory for all high school students.
I think I lead a sheltered life expecting equality; I forget that there are many women less fortunate.
Very interesting, Leslie and I am shocked, too! Totally agree with Josie here - women can't win and when we are strong we are called everything but "justified" in fighting for our rights!
This is a very sad statement of affairs. Just when I think that things are getting better I see that they are not. These statistics have been the same for years now with no improvement.
Interesting and sad.
A womans history course is a great idea!
I would agree that women need to speak up and demand equality...but it is a struggle...when the president of our nurses union went into bargainning demanding a 42% wage increase for nurses everyone thought she and the nurses were crazy...we didnt' get the 42% but we got the highest pay raise nursing had ever gotten and we made huge advancements in shift differentials, responsibility pay, and now retention bonuses....now that nursing is finally making a decent living wage...i.e. I make more than my hubby...it is becoming very attractive to our male counterparts...where I currently work I am amazed at how many male nurses there are, that are working full time and raising families. Some say it is because we are getting more males into the profession that the wages are going up...it's kinda which came first the chicken or the egg....
I can remeber when I worked for the Federal government....I was doing a particular job...I was put on a secondment and they brought a male into do my job...you know what they did...they paid him more money...they gave him a secretary...and other benefits...when I came back to the job...all that was removed and I certainly didn't get the salary he was getting....it was blantanly discriminatory...I grieved it....I won...but during the grievance process the management made my life hell....but I wasn't going to sit back and let them take advantage of me...it was a very hard road to walk...but I told myself had to do this not just for myself, but for others so that this would never happen to them...it was just wrong....
Women need to find their voice...and collectively speak up..we have known about the inequalities in salaries for a very long time....
I think now more than ever women need to stand up and make themselves accountable for what they are rightly entitled to.
This is interesting. I agree, too, that a women's history course should be taught at least at the high school level.
Just a quick visit...thanks for all your good wishes - how's Eden - did you get the ecard?
i don't know that we'll ever achieve the "equality" status, but i do think we've come a long way, and we're going to keep on going. hasn't the world learned, ain't no stopping us now!!! (this is a song that was sung by McFadden & Whitehead in the 60's or 70's; can't quite remember).
Ain't no stoppin' us now
We're on the move (yeah-ee-a, yeah-ee-a)
Ain't no stoppin' us now
We've got the groove
There've been so many things that have held us down
But now it looks like things are finally comin' around, yeah
I know we've got a long long way to go, yeah
And where we'll end up
I don't know
But we won't let nothing hold us back
We gonna get ourselves together
We gonna polish up our act, yeah
And if you've ever been held down before
I know that you refuse to be held down any more, yeah yeah
Don't you let nothing, nothing
Nothing stand in your way
And all we gonna do
I want you to listen, listen (That's right)
To every word I say
Every word I say about it
Ain't no stoppin' us now
We're on the move
(You said it, we've got the groove)
Ain't no stoppin' us now
We've got the groove (Whoo-hoo-oo-oo Whoo-hoo-oo)
Ain't no stoppin' us now
We're on the move
(We've got the groove)
Ain't no stoppin' us now
We've got the groove (Yeah)
Imagine life if a woman led the country! Canada or USA.
Amazing, isn't it? Yes, part-time hours should be paid at the same rate as full -time hours.
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