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EQUITY & HUMAN RIGHTS OFL MARKS INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY WITH CALL TO END WAGE DISCRIMINATION Based on the current rate of progress, it will take over 100 years before women earn the same wages as men. In Ontario today, even though women now account for roughly half of the labour force, they continue to make 31.5 percent less than the average annual earnings of male workers – one of the largest reported gaps in the world. It amounts to a gendered wage penalty that is compounded by race, immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity and ability. It is an economic price that women pay at every wage level, regardless of their age, education or occupation. Action on wage equality cannot wait another year, let alone 100. The OFL marked the 2016 International Women’s Day (IWD) with a call to end wage discrimination by raising the wages and employment standards for every worker. “2016 is the 100th anniversary of women winning the right to vote in a Canadian province. Nellie McClung and the ‘Famous Five’ led this historic victory in Manitoba and paved the way for women’s suffrage across Canada,” said OFL Secretary-Treasurer Patty Coates in her Hamilton Spectator op-ed. “What better way to honour their legacy than to make sure that 100 years from today, young women will look back on wage discrimination as a similar relic from another century.” APRIL 19 IS EQUAL PAY DAY FOR 2016 The OFL and affiliates recognized April 19, 2016 as “Equal Pay Day” – the date symbolizing the nearly four months of additional work that women need to toil at to catch up to the previous year’s earnings of their male counterparts. Rallies and events were held in communities across Ontario. The OFL partnered with affiliates and the Ontario Equal Pay Coaltion to participate in a special pay equity supplement in the Toronto Star (see adjacent page). A number of affiliates launched punchy campaigns to expose the wage gap. 10 SPRING 2016 • VOLUME 6, ISSUE 2 PHOTO: JOEL DUFF PHOTO: MELISA BAYON PHOTO: SHANNON DEVINE PHOTO: JOEL DUFF