Female Wage and Labor Differentials in Canada: History, Difference in Labor Markets, The Wage Gap, General Discrimination and Trends
This is a 12 page paper discussing wage and labor differentials for women in Canada. Within Canada today, women in the labor force generally make 70 to 80 cents for every dollar men make. This “wage gap” has actually decreased greatly over the years but still has a long way to go for total equity in the work place despite positive legislation in the 1970s and 1980s. Historically, women within Canada have been “crowded” into certain female-dominated professions such as clerical positions, nursing, teaching, domestic work, social work and sales and services. While clerical work once was comparable with male blue-collar jobs in regards to pay, the increase in unionization in many blue-collar trades left most of the female-dominated positions as those which were lower paid. As women shifted away from clerical positions and proceeded to attain degrees in higher education, the wage gap began to decrease but then women encountered the “glass ceiling” in which women held a disproportionate number of positions in the lowest quartile in large corporations. Today, women still have lower average salaries than men despite the gain in higher education. One of the reasons found within studies by Statistics Canada and others is that women who choose to have and raise children lose experience during their absence; experience men continue to gain which in turn leads to more promotions. Another reason believed for the continue wage gap is discrimination which still exists within employers, co-workers and the general population somewhat who still categorize some professions as “female” (such as teaching) and some as “male” (such as the trades) and in essence this restricts female workers from opportunities within the blue collar and higher executive markets.
Bibliography lists 6 sources.
File: D0_TJwompd1.rtf
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