The Government of BC has put out its first pay transparency report since introducing new legislation last year, and the numbers point to an enduring gap between men’s wages and those of women and gender-diverse people.
On average, women in BC make $0.83 for every dollar men make. White women make slightly more, at $0.88 to a man’s dollar, but racialized women, newcomers, and Indigenous women make even less than the average.
Government of BC
“With a pay gap of 17%, British Columbia has one of the highest gender pay gaps in Canada, and it has persisted for far too long,” the report authors wrote.
Nationally, Canada’s pay gap is 14%.
The government introduced the Pay Transparency Act in November 2023. It mandated all job postings aiming to hire British Columbians include the expected salary range and forbids employers from asking prospective candidates about their pay history or disciplining current employees who discussed their wages publicly.
As well, the Act mandates certain employers publish pay transparency reports for their own workers. In 2023, only seven public service employers needed to turn in reports; however, this year, any company in the province with 1,000 employees or more will need to create pay gap reports.
Government of BC
Of the seven companies that turned in pay transparency reports, five of them paid men up to 20% more than women. But two paid women up to 8% more than men.
At public service companies where more women than men occupied the highest pay quarter, women on average were still paid 15% less than men hourly.
When it came to bonuses, women’s bonus amounts were also smaller than men’s.
Some of the reasons the seven companies gave for the pay discrepancy included certain unionized positions being eligible for bonuses, and those positions were filled mostly by men. As well, some companies reported a majority of men occupied positions eligible for overtime pay.
The Government of BC also released information on the number of complaints about employers not following the rules. Dozens of people lodged complaints about job postings not including salary information, and a handful complained their employer reprimanded them for sharing their own salary information. One person complained they were asked about previous pay in a job interview.
Government of BC
“This is just a starting point,” the report said of the Pay Transparency Act. “Data and trends show BC’s gender pay gap to be pervasive, persistent and larger than most other provincial pay gaps. The Act is shining a light on pay discrimination in the workplace and creating awareness of pay inequality.”