Research reveals disability pay gap that could be more than half compared to those without a disability
Despite legislation aimed at eliminating barriers to employment for those with disabilities, new research highlights a startling pay gap.
While the gender pay gap is well documented and a frequent boardroom topic, the disability pay gap is less often considered but is a serious issue according to a report from Statistics Canada.
Looking at data from the 2019 Canadian Income Survey it revealed that those with a disability earned on average almost $12,000 less ($43,400) than those without a disability ($55,200), a pay gap of more than 21%. Put another way, those with a disability earned 79 cents for every dollar earned by those without a disability.
For men, the disability pay gap is 24% while for women it is 14%.
Some disabilities increase pay gap
However, the averages do not consider the types of disability a person has. When this is factored in, the disability pay gap is even more pronounced.
Those with cognitive disabilities in 2019 earned less than half (46.6%) of those without disabilities, and there were significant pay gaps for those with mental health-related disabilities (31.0%), physical disabilities (20.7%) and sensory disabilities (12.3%).
Along with the pay gap, those with disabilities were less likely to work full-time (76.9%) than persons without disabilities (84.5%).
