Does my employer have to pay men and women equally for work of equal value?

What the Law Says

Canada’s federal Pay Equity Act sets a legal requirement for employers to ensure equal pay for work of equal value — not just identical jobs, but jobs that are comparable in skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions. The law targets systemic, gender-based wage gaps through proactive measures.

The Act applies to federally regulated employers (e.g., banks, airlines, federal government) with 10 or more employees. It does not require employers to compare male and female employees one-on-one, but rather to compare job classes — groups of positions with similar duties, responsibilities, and qualifications — and assess whether predominantly female job classes are paid less than predominantly male ones of equal value.

If a gap is found, the employer must increase compensation for the female job classes to achieve pay equity. This obligation is mandatory and ongoing — employers must maintain pay equity after initial implementation and update their plans every five years.

Statutory Text

The purpose of this Act is to achieve pay equity through proactive means by redressing systemic gender-based discrimination in compensation.

— Pay Equity Act, s. 2 — Purpose

Statutory Text

Employer must increase compensation for predominantly female job classes to achieve pay equity.

— Pay Equity Act, s. 48 — Obligation to increase compensation

What to Do

Sources