Having another go at the gender pay equity gap (Contribution to Discussion Bulletin 4 for 29th Communist Party Ontario Provincial Convention)

by Saleh Waziruddin of the Eric Blair Club (St. Catharines)

Alas when I wrote my convention contribution (discussion bulletin #2) comment about how point #29 of the Draft Political Resolution focuses on capitalism's gendering of labour without looking at the effect of patriarchy itself on the gender pay gap within the same occupation, I was only writing from a purely theoretical understanding about how pre-capitalist patriarchy persists (semi-)independently of capitalism, confirmed by anecdotes from a club member about her experiences as a woman working in an auto plant. Little did I know how the actual story is much more interesting, until on International Women's Day this month Statistics Canada released “Women and Paid Work”, a report which is part of the series “Women in Canada: A Gender-based Statistical Report”.

The report found that the gender pay gap within the same job (not industry but job) is a much bigger factor on the gender pay gap than the gendering of the labour force into industries and jobs which are predominantly male and female. Specifically achieving gender parity within the the same occupations, without changing the gendering of labour (not that we shouldn't change this!), would raise women's wages by $2.87 per hour on average and the gender pay gap would close to 97 cents on the dollar. The gender pay gap is larger within traditionally predominantly female occupations, as well as white collar and non-traditionally female retail and service occupations, at about $4/hour.

I did some further reading and it turns out this is not a new finding. A 2015 study by Tammy Schirle showed the gender pay gap between provinces was mostly due to the gap within the same occupation in each province, rather than the difference between provinces in the distribution of industries and jobs. A 1996 study by Michael Kidd and Michael Shannon showed that the more detailed the job classification that statistics are taken from, the greater the gender pay gap, and concluded that the gap cannot be explained by the individual or personal characteristics of the workers themselves, suggesting it is due to patriarchy directly. This is confirmed by many other studies.

The report also shows that the gendering of employment has gotten worse for predominantly female occupations. The proportion of women who are in predominantly female jobs has almost doubled since 1976 from 35% to 60%. Also the proportion of women working multiple jobs has almost doubled since 1976, and almost 40% of women with multiple jobs have a part-time as their main job whereas this is less than 20% for men.

Also, Ontario is one of three provinces without employment equity legislation which covers the gender employment gap, different from but related to the gender pay gap. In 1995 under Mike Harris the Employment Equity Act of 1993 was repealed under the argument by minister Marilyn Mushinski that "legislated hiring and promotion quotas are unnecessary, unfair and ineffective", an “alternative fact” debunked by real facts. We should bring back employment equity legislation as a step towards equality.

So the amendment I proposed earlier was too modest, I propose instead an amendment each to the Draft Political Resolution and to the People's Alternative Program for Ontario.

Amendment for the Draft Political Resolution (replacing my earlier submission on Point #29):

WHEREAS analysis in the 2017 Statistics Report “Women and Paid Work”, as well as many previous studies, show that the gender pay gap within occupations has a vastly greater effect on the overall gender pay gap than the gendering of labour under capitalism; and

WHEREAS the proportion of women going into predominantly female jobs and proportion of women working multiple jobs has almost doubled since 1976; and

WHEREAS almost 40% of women with multiple jobs rely on a part-time job as their main job whereas this is less than 20% for men with multiple jobs

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the following be inserted into the Draft Political Resolution Point #30 before the last sentence: “Studies including Statistics Canada's 2017 report “Women and Paid Work” show the gender pay gap within the same occupation has the largest effect on the overall gender pay gap. The proportion of women who are in predominantly female jobs has almost doubled since 1976 from 35% to 60%, and the proportion of women working multiple jobs has also doubled since 1976. Almost 40% of women with multiple jobs rely on a part-time as their main job whereas this is less than 20% for men with multiple jobs. ”

and for the Draft People's Alternative for Ontario:

WHEREAS Ontario is one of three provinces without Employment Equity Legislation since the 1995 repeal under the Mike Harris Government of the 1993 Employment Equity Act

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT under the “Raise Wages and Incomes” section of the People's Alternative Program for Ontario a new point be added after the 3rd point: “re-enact Employment Equity legislation for equal consideration for and treatment in employment, requiring positive and supportive measures by employers and enforcement by an Employment Equity Commission and an Employment Equity Tribunal.”