‘Employers aren’t making advances to ensure that their organizations are places where gender equity is a fact of life’
Canada is lagging behind when it comes to gender equality and diversity in the workplace, according to a report from Mercer.
Even though 81 per cent of Canadian leaders say their organization provides women equal access to promotion and advancement — compared to 79 per cent globally — they seem slow to take the concrete steps necessary to ensure that their organizations are places where women can thrive, found When Women Thrive 2020 Global Report, based on a survey of 1,157 organizations in 54 countries.
At the senior level, 54 per cent of organizations say their executives are actively involved or engaged in diversity and inclusion programs and initiatives, compared to 66 per cent of organizations worldwide. They also reported that 35 per cent of their middle managers and 30 per cent of front-line managers are actively involved in diversity programs, compared to 53 per cent and 46 per cent, respectively, globally.
“When women thrive, Canada thrives, and yet we see that Canadian employers aren’t making advances to ensure that their organizations are places where gender equity is a fact of life,” says Jaqui Parchment, CEO of Mercer Canada. “Employers must do more to make their stated commitments to diversity and inclusion a reality. That starts with a commitment from every level of leadership, a robust approach to measurement and accountability, and ensuring that your promotion pipeline is truly equal opportunity.”
Canada lagging behind
While 70 per cent of Canadian organizations say that pay equity is part of their compensation philosophy, only 34 per cent go beyond the minimum legal requirements and apply robust statistical analysis to determine their pay equity gaps — 21 percentage points below the rest of the world.
Eighty-two per cent of Canadian employers also say that their organization’s pay equity analysis addresses both base pay and incentives, but only 34 per cent have a formalized remediation process to address any pay equity risks — 10 percentage points below the rest of the world. And only 31 per cent of Canadian employers set formal, quantitative goals or targets for diversity and inclusion outcomes, compared to 50 per cent globally.
Though 81 per cent of Canadian organizations say that women have equal access to the specific roles or positions more likely to lead to advancement to senior management or leadership, only 44 per cent track hiring, promotion and exits by gender and career level — 14 per cent below the global average. And only 50 per cent of Canadian organizations say that women are equally as likely as men to move across business units or geographies — 21 percentage points below the global average.
After a 13-year long battle, female workers in Ontario long-term care homes won a court decision last year that is meant to maintain their pay equity rights. And pay equity is on the radar in several Canadian jurisdictions.
