Pay Equity Office report examines why women are still receiving less
Bohemian Rhapsody was at number one and The Beachcombers was must-see TV, but while much has changed in Canada since 1976, the gender pension gap has been stubbornly stuck in the past.
In ’76 it was 15% meaning that for every dollar the average man received in retirement income, the average women received 85 cents. In 2021, the gap was 17% and the metric has been in a similar range for almost half a century (based on the first meaningful stats available).
Canada’s gender pension gap (GPG) is highlighted in a new report from the Pay Equity Office which says that women are still facing an uphill battle to secure financial security in their older years despite a substantial increase in overall retirement income (up 60% in inflation-adjusted terms over the last 50 years) and women’s greater participation in the labour market and earnings.
"Women receive $0.83 to every $1.00 a man receives in retirement income. That is a 17% gendered pension gap," notes Kadie Philp, Commissioner and CAO of the Ontario Pay Equity Commission. "This stark reality isn't just a number – it's a concerning trend contributing to a notable gender disparity among older Canadians, particularly women."
The GPG is calculated using three sources: Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement, Canadian Pension Plan/Quebec Pension Plan, and private pensions.
The research paper, Understanding the Gender Pension Gap in Canada, published by Ontario's Pay Equity Office with Dr. Elizabeth Shilton, feminist economist and labour lawyer - says one of the issues is reliance on private pensions - “the most gender-unequal pillar” - in Canada’s three pillar system of retirement income.
It also notes that women generally do more unpaid family care work than men, weakening their opportunity to increase their share of paid work. For example, in 2017, almost 90% of insured mothers in Canada took maternity/parental leave – at reduced income level – compared with 12%% of insured fathers/partners. And in 2021, 24% of all Canadian female workers were part-time compared with 13% of all male workers with women in this cohort citing childcare responsibilities as the main reason versus 3% of men. While women’s employment rate rises with the age of their children, it never catches up with men’s.
Recently, the National Institute on Ageing has been calling for a re-framing of how we consider retirement including a shift in the focus from accumulation of retirement savings to how spending will look during the decumulation stage.
Low-income retirement
According to 2020 stats, one fifth of women aged 75 and older were living below Canada’s low-income threshold, 51% higher than male peers (14%).
"Gendered differences in income, whether while working or in retirement, have multiple and interrelated causes,” added Philp. “This report is a must read for everyone interested in redressing workplace inequities. It also highlights the need for additional research on the impacts of the gender wage gap on women in all stages of their lives."
