A living wage doesn’t mean equal pay for equal work

Re: “The cost of living in Durham,” June 29, 2016

Dear Editor,

The Community Development Council of Durham (CDCD) has launched an initiative to calculate living wage then encourage employers to pay it.  CDCD’s vision to reduce poverty, neglects to consider the nationwide gender pay gap, which will continue to foster poverty rates regardless of whether a living wage is enforced.

The gender pay gap is the average difference in the hourly earnings among men and women. In Ontario regardless of age, industry and occupation, women continue to earn less than men – especially marginalized women – and form the majority of the poor. Therefore, paying a living wage doesn’t guarantee that all genders will be paid equally for equal work.

CDCD reports that women (working and senior) experience the highest rates in the low-income brackets. This has ripple effects on our community given that poverty levels are on the rise in Durham. But how? Firstly, a woman doubles her risk of facing poverty if she is a single mother. Therefore, she is more likely to remain in an abusive marriage for financial security; potentially exposing her children to an abusive environment. Secondly, women outlive their male counterparts, leaving women at an increased risk of facing poverty in their senior years; especially since they don’t earn equal wages. Thirdly, women continue to take reasonability for domestic chores (i.e. child-care duties) inside the home while working more hours for less pay. Not only does this contradict the initiative’s goal to ensure “healthy” workers, but as a result of all three factors (among many more) a woman with a low-wage is more likely to experience adverse health outcomes, a shorter life span and spend your tax dollars while she’s at it – yes women are more likely to seek medical and therapeutic supports than men. In 2016 there are plans to rely entirely on provincial funding. Therefore, municipal cuts to social services creates additional challenges in accessing shelters, food banks, counselling, etc.

The CDCD must collaborate with the Ontario Equal Pay Coalition to create a strategic action plan that will offer more incentives if employers are open to conducting regular salary audits to ensure both a living wage and pay equity.

Sunaina Mannan