MEDIA RELEASE
R000083
18 April 2016
Brock University — Communications & Public Affairs
Men are being paid more than women in every occupational category within Ontario’s retail sector, new Brock University-led research reveals.
This is despite the fact that most of Ontario’s one million retail workers are women.
These are among the stark findings of the report, “The Gender Wage Gap in Ontario’s Retail Sector: Devaluing Women’s Work and Women Workers.” The “gender wage gap” is the difference between what women and men are paid.
“I’ve studied retail work for six years, but the seriousness of the pay inequities in Ontario still surprised and angered me,” says Brock University labour expert Kendra Coulter, the report’s lead author.
Coulter teamed up with Angella MacEwen, an economist at the Canadian Labour Congress, and Sheetal Rawal, a lawyer with expertise in pay equity issues, to produce the April 18 report.
The report combines statistical analysis, the results of an online survey of retail workers, and comparative legal and policy research.
Findings include:
• Men are paid more than women across every occupational category in front-line retail – often a lot more.
• Of the few full-time positions that do exist, most are given to men.
• Of the retail workers who are paid $12 or less per hour, 65 per cent are women.
• 48 per cent of online survey respondents feel there are inequalities in workplace promotions, with many attributing favouritism and a “boys’ club” mentality as the cause.
“This is not about a few bad apples: there is a widespread devaluing of women workers across the sector,” says Coulter, associate professor in Brock’s Centre for Labour Studies.
For a copy of the report: RevolutionizingRetail.org
Contact: Kendra Coulter, associate professor, Centre for Labour Studies, kcoulter@brocku.ca
For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:
* Cathy Majtenyi, Research Communications/Media Relations Specialist, Brock University, cmajtenyi@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x5789 or 905-321-0566
* Dan Dakin, Media Relations Officer, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca,
905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970
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