Maclean’s asks men to pay more in call for pay equity
Posted February 8, 2018 7:45 am.
Last Updated February 8, 2018 8:13 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Decades after Canada introduced pay equity laws, women continue to earn less than men, regardless of sector, job title, or number of hours they work.
To draw attention to the problem, Maclean’s is asking men to pay 26 per cent more than women for its magazine this month—a reflection of the persistent wage differential between full-time working men and women in Canada.
The content of both magazines is exactly the same, but one cover aimed at men costs $8.81, while the other created for women costs $6.99. (In practice, readers can buy whichever cover they like.) Extra proceeds from $8.81 cover will be donated to Indspire, an Indigenous-led charity, to help fund a scholarship for an Indigenous woman.
“Pay equity is having its moment as the next beat in the cadence of the #MeToo movement,” says Maclean’s Editor-in-Chief, Alison Uncles. “Our hope is that these dual covers help ignite the kind of urgent conversation in Canada that is already happening elsewhere around the world.”
The reasons for the enduring wage gap are many and complex, according to a Maclean’s feature report. Academics have devoted decades to researching them; politicians have spent nearly as long pledging legislation to close the gap. But since the second and third waves of feminism came and went, women’s wages have climbed a mere 10 per cent.
But that could be changing.
The Maclean’s cover story looks at why efforts to close the wage gap have failed, and whether new federal legislation promised by the Trudeau government—amid growing public outrage—will finally move the dial.
The full article is available on newsstands and on the Maclean’s website.
