Moncton — To mark Labour Day, the New Brunswick Coalition for Pay Equity is mobilizing women to advocate for their right to pay equity.
In an effort to rally New Brunswick women for the upcoming elections, the Coalition is launching a microsite to help them exercise their civic duty, and engage candidates in a discussion about pay equity: https://equitableNB.ca/
“New Brunswick women are still underpaid because there is no pay equity legislation for the private sector. When they go to the polls in 48 days, pay equity must be on the ballot,” explains Raphaëlle Valay-Nadeau, the Coalition's new Chair. “We encourage everyone to visit the microsite to learn more about their right to pay equity, discover easy ways to take action, and help make a difference for thousands of New Brunswickers.”
The Coalition notes that New Brunswick women face the same rising cost of living as their male counterparts, but with considerably less financial resources. A disproportionate amount of women live on low income (52%), work for minimum wage (57%), and head single-parent families (76.62%). Above all, most of them work in underpaid women-dominated jobs. Women have every incentive to support pay equity legislation for the private sector.
The cost-of-living crisis stems from the failure of wages to keep pace with inflation. By 2022, women's median income fell from $37,000 in 2021 to $35,600, a reduction of 3.8%. Taking inflation (7.3%) into account, their purchasing power dropped by 11.1%. This loss is all the more difficult to absorb as women already earn less than men. In 2022, women earned 80% of men's median annual income ($44,200), a difference of $8,600 less per year.
“The first step in correcting this injustice is to ensure that all women-dominated jobs are paid their fair value, at the very least. This means passing pay equity legislation for the private sector, where over 60% of New Brunswick women work. The province and the population desperately need it, but we lack the political will to make it happen,” added Ms. Valay-Nadeau.
The New Democratic Party included a commitment to adopt pay equity legislation for the private sector for the first time in its 1987 platform, and the Green Party since its first in 2010. While the Liberal Party included it for the first time in 2018, it excluded it from its 2020 platform. Lastly, the last time the Progressive Conservative Party was in favour of legislation for the private sector was in 1983, when then Premier Hatfield voiced his support; since then, the party has overlooked the option of legislation altogether.
“Successive governments have denied women their right to pay equity in the private sector. And until pay equity is legislated for this sector, New Brunswick women will continue to pay the price of pay inequity. The next provincial election is our best chance to pressure each party to commit to pay equity legislation,” proclaimed Ms. Valay-Nadeau.
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