“Pay transparency can lift the veil on how people doing the exact same job can be paid quite differently, with the goal of leveling the playing field”
Increasingly, we have seen a push to normalize pay transparency — or open conversations about salary — in an effort to close gender and racial pay gaps. November 1, 2023 British Columbia introduce the Pay Transparency Act requiring all employers in British Columbia to include the expected pay or the expected pay range for a specific job opportunity that they advertise publicly.
Advocates say “pay transparency can lift the veil on how people doing the exact same job can be paid quite differently, with the goal of leveling the playing field”.
Implementing this Act is not difficult, the 3 key actions are:
- Advertising the salary range on job postings
- Training for team members involved in the recruitment and interview process
- How to handle inquires from your existing employees if they should ask about why their salaries may not align with job posting.
Guidance from the B.C. Government on wage or salary information on job postings is available here: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/gender-equity/wage-or-salary-information-on-job-postings
Other related research and legislation;
- In 2022, Canada’s federal government’s introduced the Pay Equity Act requiring all employers in federally regulated sectors with 10 or more employees to identify and correct pay disparities.
- October 2023, the Minerva Foundation of BC published a report on “Dismantling Barriers to Gender Equality in the Workplace” further highlighting the inequities for women in the workplace.
If your organization has questions about pay equity, needs help collecting data or evaluating current processes, reach out, we would love to help. [email protected]
References:
CBC (2023): https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/pay-transparency-push-1.6962687
Government of BC (2023): https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/gender-equity/pay-transparency-laws-in-bc
BC Gender Equity Office: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/gender-equity
Stats Canada: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/14-28-0001/2020001/article/00003-eng.htm
Minerva Foundation
