590 Equal pay for men and women

Under the Employment Standards Act it is illegal for employers to pay men and women different wages if they do substantially the same work, unless it is pursuant to a defined seniority system, a merit system, or a system based on quantity or quality of production, or some other objective measurement. As well, under pay equity legislation, if there is a group of primarily female workers, the value of their job can be compared to groups in the company of primarily male workers based on the tasks and skills they both perform. Most employers are now required to have a plan in place to make sure that jobs done by men and jobs done by women are paid the same if the value of their work is the same based on objective criteria.

If you work in a job that is usually done by women, such as office administration, child care, or textile manufacturing, and your employer has not put a plan together to ensure you are being paid for the value of your work, you can contact the Pay Equity Commission to complain. If you are a woman working in a job usually done by men, and you think you are being underpaid because of your sex, you can contact the Ontario Women's Bureau or the Employment Standards office.

For more information, refer to other sections of Legal Line.