With International Equal Pay Day having been just this past week, and Gender Equality Week being commemorated from September 22 to 28, the DGC BC Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee & the DGC BC Executive Director would like to share their thoughts and experiences regarding equal pay.

Paula Kyan, Production Manager Member, and DGC BC DEI Committee Honorary Member

I’m sure for many women, pay equity or pay equality means that we are being respected for the experience, insight, knowledge, and problem solving skills that we bring to the table.  It’s a validation and an acknowledgement that our work is regarded as having value, merit, and that we are equally important as our male counterparts. We are being seen. We are being recognized. We are being compensated fairly for the effort and time that we have invested into our jobs, our careers.  

Pay equity/equality is an important topic for me. As an only child, I have become the sole caregiver for an ailing and aging parent. While film is definitely not immune to gender pay equity issues, the salaries are better than in many industries. Being in film has afforded me the luxury of stepping away from work and helping my parents when they need it most. It has also given me precious time to spend with my other parent who valiantly fought stomach cancer for two and a half years. It has meant a bit more freedom in my daily choices and has led to less mental strain and worry. Still, we know there are strides to be made for all roles in our industry to achieve financial stability. 

Kendrie Upton, DGC BC Executive Director

Equal Pay is always a central theme in the work of unions and certainly one of the main reasons that I took the job of DGC BC Executive Director. It provided me with a way to support and participate in the ongoing efforts to bring about better pay equity for our Members as a whole. 

It’s very clear that pay inequity is a more predominant reality for our Members who are IBPOC, women or genderqueer, 2SLGBTQIA+ and/or disabled. As a labour leader, these issues are not only part of my job, they're personal to me. My contributions rise from my own experiences as a film worker who's both female and lesbian.

We definitely still have a long way to go. It’s my daily aim to lend my voice to assist us in bringing about change and also to inspire others to speak up about these issues. When our Members with diverse characteristics share their stories they make the DGC BC a more inclusive and welcoming place.

Brief History of Topic by Paula Kyan

International Equal Pay Day was established by the United Nations in 2019 to shed light on steadfast endeavours to attain equal pay for work of equal value and to continue a dialogue on the gender pay gap caused by systemic inequalities and turn those moral ethics into effective action to diminish the separation in the gender pay gap. We commemorate this day on September 18.

On average women in Canada earn $0.87 for every dollar earned by a man. This gap is more pronounced when it comes to women with disabilities, new immigrant women, 2SLGBTQIA+ and IBPOC women and additionally also province by province. Barriers are even more pronounced for gender non-conforming folks.

Equal Pay Day, not to be confused with International Equal Pay Day, is the date of how far into the next year the average woman will have to work in order to catch up to what the average man earned the year before. BC’s Equal Pay Day was May 2, 2024. Data from Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey determined that Equal Pay Day would be April 9, 2024, for Canada as a whole, 101 days into the 2024 calendar.  

There are many ways this disparity in the pay gap occurs. There are also many ways this pay gap can be measured: hourly wages, annual wages, part time employment, income across various occupations, women in lower-paying jobs, 2SLGBTQIA+, women with disabilities, racialized women, Indigenous women, newcomer women, and the intersectional experiences of all women.

How do we move forward supporting equal pay for all those affected? We can start by taking steps to make important and significant changes:

• Develop a “Close the Gender Pay Gap Plan”

• Workplace Flexibility ie: modified work hours, job sharing, work from home - if possible

• Pay transparency

• Hiring more women and gender diverse folks in Executive or Head of Department/Management positions

• Promoting and advancing women, 2SLGBTQIA+, women with disabilities, IBPOC, and newcomer women and gender diverse folks.

• Advocate for new opportunities for women & gender diverse folks.

Read up on more ways to make change at:

• https://equalpaycoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/12-Steps-to-Close-the-Gender-Pay-Gap-by-2025.pdf

• https://leanin.org/women-in-the-workplace 

• Equal Pay Day by province for the years 2014 and 2024. 2024 calculations are based on the average weekly wage for women in 2023. You can also find the formula to calculate Equal Pay Day on this page. Equal Pay Day: Exploring Wage Disparities in Canada

• If you’d like to keep up-to-date with the latest from Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE) subscribe to their newsletter here: Equality Matters newsletter - Canada.ca

• Government of Canada webpage on Gender Equality Week: Gender Equality Week - Canada.ca