Report: Quebec women earned 9% less than men in 2021

Women in Quebec made an average of 91 per cent of what their male counterparts made hourly in the province in 2021.

That’s according to a new report by the Institut de la statistique du Quebec. It was published on the 26th anniversary of the passing of Quebec’s Pay Equity Act.

The study also found the pay gap has improved since 1998 when women made an average of 83 cents for every dollar a man earned in the province.

According to the Institut, last year Quebec female workers earned an average hourly wage of $27.39 whereas men pocketed $30.16.

Sonia Kwemi, vice president of V&S Services Conseils, feels that “a lot of work has to be done.”

“But still, I think it’s really good news for women and we still need to do a lot of work in our different types of organizations,” she said.

Pay gap depends on industry

The analysis also investigated how women and men’s hourly earnings ratios changed over the course of the last 23 years based on 10 different labour sectors. The findings: the gender wage gap either narrows or widens depending on the industry.

In management for example, Quebec female workers saw an increase in their earnings from 79 per cent to 91 per cent of their male colleagues. However other sectors such as agriculture and natural resources, which saw the widest wage gap last year, haven’t seen a change at all since 1998.

“If there are more women in those sectors and they cannot access this balance, then it’s making it harder for them to have higher positions and more money. So, we need to look at what has been done between those different sectors to be able to evaluate if and where we need to put more money and efforts,” added Kwemi.

Kwemi notes there are multiple ways by which the gender wage gap can continue to be reduced.

“Work life balance is key in all of this. We don’t often see it as something that will help women to be able to access better positions, but in fact it does,” she said.

Another important factor for women: not being afraid to ask for what you want.

“Women we have unfortunately still that tendency to not negotiate or want more. So, if those skills are public, we’re going to make sure that everyone has the same chances to have more money,” said Kwemi.