Post-secondary graduates: In Quebec, gender income gaps continue

The study, by authors Emna Braham and Annie Pan, examined the earnings of men and women after graduating from college or university, after one year and five years.

To avoid comparing different professions or situations, the authors consider variables such as the number of hours worked, the field of study, the sector of activity and the number of children.

We are actually comparing men and women with the same degree, who have studied the same thing, who work in the same sector of activity. The income gaps shown take into account all of these elementstaught by Ms. Braham, in an interview with The Canadian Press.

This shows that one year after graduation, the income gap in the absence of women among these full-time workers and those with a similar background is 9%.

More specifically, it is 4% of the lowest paid and 13% of the best paid.

Similarly, five years after graduation from post-secondary education, the income gap against women reached 16%.

This is 12% of the lowest paid and 19% of the best paid. Again, the study compared people who work full time and have a similar background.

Causes

Family responsibilities are not the whole story. The most qualified women in Quebec not only receive lower income at work than their male counterparts, once they enter the labor market, but also before starting a family.note the authors.

Mrs. Braham puts forward other hypotheses, such as one women tend to negotiate their salary less than their peers masculine.

Also, women will be less working for the best paying employers in Quebecbecause they choose employers that offer other favorable working conditions or a better balance between work and personal or family life, for example.

How to correct it?

So what can be done to close the remaining gaps?

The Pay Equity Act has certainly played its role in re -evaluating jobs and closing salary gaps, but more needs to be done, Ms. Braham.

He recommends measures to promote a better sharing of family activities, for example that fathers can take more parental leave alone.

She also suggests that companies ’human resources departments develop career support programs to ensure women climb the ladder and reach better paid positions.

For educational institutions, he recommends working to reduce gaps in numeracy, such as information technology and mathematics, skills valued in the labor market and men tend to thrive throughout their lives, their career.

The Institut du Québec is a non-profit, autonomous organization, managed by an independent board of directors. It was founded in 2014 by HEC Montréal and the Conference Board of Canada.