Reduce the wage gap between men and women.

What success looks like

Fair compensation systems in organizations under federal jurisdiction and a more flexible work environment to reduce the pay gap between women and men.

Government's narrative on progress

Proactive pay equity is expected to contribute to fairness in the workplace by reducing the gender wage gap in federally regulated workplaces by addressing the undervaluation of work traditionally performed by women. In its response to the Special Committee on Pay Equity report titled It’s Time to Act, the Government of Canada made a commitment to table new, proactive pay equity legislation in federally regulated sectors before the end of 2018, and did so on October 29, 2018. The *Pay Equity Act* was introduced through Bill C-86, *Budget Implementation Act*, 2018, No.2, which received Royal Assent on December 13, 2018. The new proactive pay equity regime will contribute to enhancing fairness in the workplace by ensuring men and women in federally regulated sectors receive the same pay for work of equal value. It will also contribute to reducing the portion of the gender wage gap in federally regulated workplaces that is due to the undervaluation of work traditionally performed by women. In addition, the government will provide Canadians with more information on the wage gaps of employers in the federally regulated private sector. Building on the Government of Canada’s commitment to close the gender wage gap through Pay Transparency measures announced in Budget 2018, Budget 2019 announced an amendment to the *Employment Equity Act* related to the categories of information reported annually by employers, including salary data. Other measures underway to reduce the gender wage gap and encourage greater workforce participation among women include investments in early learning and child care, a new Employment Insurance caregiving benefit, the introduction of pay transparency measures for federally regulated employers, a major symposium on women and the workplace, the right to request flexible work arrangements for federally regulated employees and the piloting of a new Apprenticeship Incentive Grant for Women and a new Parental Sharing EI Benefit. As part of the Investing in Canada Plan, a new Women in Construction Fund was announced in Budget 2018 to provide $10 million in funding to support women in construction trades. In addition, a number of measures support the creation of more work-integrated learning opportunities, and seek to attract more women to Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) and business programs as well as entrepreneurship. These include expanded eligibility for Canada Student Grants for part-time students and students with dependent children, co-ops for post-secondary students, a new Student Work-Integrated Learning Program, and the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy.

Note: this is the government's own description, not an independent assessment.