What does gender discrimination mean?
Gender discrimination, which is found in the field of employment, is based on beliefs and prejudices in society that influence us without it being necessarily conscious or intentional.
Even today, these beliefs and prejudices can have an impact on how wages for female jobs are determined.
Gender discrimination contributes to the wage gap between men and women. In 1996, the Loi sur l’équité salariale was adopted with the aim of correcting wage differences due to gender discrimination. There is still a long way to go, even after 25 years of progress (in French only).
Stereotypes and prejudices related to female jobs
Women have been active on the labour market for decades. A 100 years ago, women performed mostly tasks that were traditionally reserved for them. They held jobs that were often an extension of their work at home, such as nurses, cooks or seamstresses. Over time, certain characteristics came to be associated with female or male jobs.
Characteristics often associated with female jobs
- Empathy (nurse)
- Courtesy (receptionist)
- Dexterity (seamstress)
- Organizational skills (secretary)
Characteristics often associated with male jobs
- Strength (mover)
- Physical stamina (construction worker)
- Leadership (bank manager)
Why are there wage differences?
Stereotypes about the role of women and prejudices about the value of their work have influenced their remuneration and created wage differences with typically male jobs.
The closer the tasks are to the tasks done at home or in the family, the lower their value in the eyes of society. Qualities that have mostly been associated with female jobs have been devalued because they are considered to be related to the role of women in the home. This misinterpretation results in lower wages for typically female jobs.
Society had also long held the view that a man should be paid more than a woman because he had to support his family. A woman’s wages were considered additional, but not essential, income.
Assessing the value of jobs to combat gender discrimination
To combat gender discrimination, the Loi sur l’équité salariale requires employers to use a method to assess job categories (in French only). The employer must examine the characteristics of the jobs in order to verify whether jobs deemed equivalent are paid equally. The assessment focuses on objective factors such as:
- qualifications
- responsibilities
- efforts
- working conditions
These factors make it possible to assess all aspects of jobs. Thus, the characteristics of female jobs will be taken into account in the assessment of jobs. The fair value of these jobs will then be determined.
Assessing jobs makes it possible to correct the wage differences between female jobs and male jobs of the same value.
During the assessment, job categories are assessed, not the people doing the jobs.
Watch the video L’évaluation des emplois (in French only) to learn more.