Equal Pay Day is April 7, 2021. The date marks the extra days and months in 2021 that a woman must work, on average to make the same as a man did in 2020.
In many non-unionized workplaces, this is the reality for women who are often underpaid and undervalued for doing the same job as their male counterparts. According to the Equal Pay Coalition, women, on average, continue to earn 32 per cent less than men for work of equal value. For women who are racialized, immigrant, indigenous, have disabilities, the gap is even greater.
When women are not paid fairly, it affects the financial security of their whole family and their ability to contribute to their communities and the economy.
The pandemic continues to have a widespread impact on women, from the loss of jobs, to reduction in hours particularly in the service, hospitality and restaurant industry. Many women also work in high-risk jobs where they work in close proximity or are in close contact with the public, including grocery workers, food processing and manufacturing workers.
In addition, women, who have borne the brunt of childcare responsibilities, have withdrawn from the workforce while others have dealt with escalating violence at home.
This Equal Pay Day, your union encourages you to reflect and raise awareness through personal conversations with family and friends and create change for a fairer future. It’s time to #DemandBetter because equality is #AlwaysEssential.
