Gender and the Economy

Tag: En Français

Women and leadership
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Download this research brief (in English/en Français).

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Overview

Canada lags behind other developed countries with regard to female representation on corporate boards and in management leadership. Since 2015, firms regulated by the Ontario Securities Commission have been required to disclose annually the number of women on their board of directors and in executive officer positions. Firms that have not adopted ways to promote the representation of women are required to explain their reasons for not doing so.

Despite the existence of ‘comply or explain’ legislation, there has been slow progress for board representation, and even slower progress for women in executive leadership positions.[1] In 2018, 40.1% of TSX-listed firms reported having no female executive officers, 29.1% reported having one female executive officer, and 30.8% reported having more than one female executive officer. Women filled only 29% of vacated board seats and held 15% of board seats overall. In Canada, only 4% of firms have a female CEO.[2]

In 2018, women held just 15% of board seats and only 4% of firms had a female CEO in Canada.

Reasons for slow progress

Many attribute the lack of female leaders to a “leaky pipeline,” where women opt out of challenging career paths. But research suggests that opting out is not the problem. Instead, workplace cultures and practices that fail to accommodate the realities of care work—for which working mothers remain overwhelmingly responsible—push women out of the workforce or out of advancement to leadership roles.[3]

Women are also disadvantaged by the stereotype of leadership as a masculine trait.[4] Leadership bias against women has been found in a variety of fields, including entrepreneurship and engineering.[5] Because women do not fit the stereotype of a leader, they are often less respected.[6] For example, when women are promoted to leadership positions in male-dominated and technical occupational fields, they may face backlash. Because managerial positions involve less technical work, an increasing number of women in such positions may validate pervasive stereotypes about women being less technically competent.[7]

How to fix the problem of representation
- “Gender blind” vs. “gender aware” approaches to hiring and recruitment: While a gender-blind approach to hiring, such as redacting applicants’ names and other identifying information may help women get interviews, this approach cannot remove biases that are already part of workplace cultures.[8] Research finds that even when firms present pro-diversity values and encourage applications from underrepresented groups, they still exhibit bias in hiring practices.[9] Management can implement diverse team-based hiring so that a single hiring manager is not responsible for hiring decisions. Doing so will help to ensure that hiring is based on agreed upon job criteria and not merely the outcome of one individual’s “gut instinct” about “fit,” which may reflect unconscious biases.[10]
- Change job descriptions for leadership roles: Job descriptions can be rewritten to reduce biased language and eliminate associations with gender stereotypes. For example, changing “assertiveness,” a term associated with men, to “confidence.”
- Implement quotas or hard targets: Research shows that the belief that quotas compromise meritocracy is misguided. The implementation of quotas to increase female leadership is not a trade-off on quality.[11] Instead, board governance quality may improve. Specifically, increasing the number of women on corporate boards to three or more enhances the likelihood that women’s ideas are heard, and that boardroom dynamics change.[12]
- Sponsorship and mentorship: Whereas workplace mentors provide advice, workplace sponsors advocate on behalf of their sponsees and champion their advancement. Because sponsorship relies on the efforts of senior-level executives, such relationships are less common but more valuable than mentorship relationships. Women with sponsors are almost twice as likely to believe that being promoted to executive positions is attainable.[13] Promoting sponsorship in addition to mentorship is thus a key intervention for increasing female leadership.
- Diversity training: Diversity training can help when implemented with buy-in from management, and alongside other efforts to reduce gender inequality. A key complement to diversity training is clear accountability for what change looks like. Efforts need to be widespread and long-term, otherwise, the mere presence and availability of diversity training can create the illusion that an organization is fair, and management may cease efforts towards truly inclusionary and substantive change.[15]
- Educate to dismantle gender stereotypes: Socialization into stereotypical gender roles begins in childhood, as do biased perceptions of women as followers rather than leaders.[16] Solutions aimed at addressing leaky pipelines must involve training for educators of every age group, from preschool to university to onsite job learning.[17]
References

[1] Catalyst, Gender Diversity on Boards in Canada: Recommendations for Accelerating Progress, commissioned by the Government of Ontario (2016). https://www.catalyst.org/research/gender-diversity-on-boards-in-canada-recommendations-for-accelerating-progress/#footnote4_g2amjjm

[2] Canadian Securities Administrators, “Report on Fourth Staff Review of Disclosure regarding Women on Boards and in Executive Officer Positions”: https://www.osc.gov.on.ca/en/SecuritiesLaw_sn_20180927_58-310_staff-review-women-on-boards.html

Andrew MacDougall and John Valley of Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt, “2018 Diversity Disclosure Practices”: https://www.osler.com/osler/media/Osler/reports/corporate-governance/2018-Diversity-Disclosure-Practices-Women-in-leadership-roles-at-TSX-listed-companies.pdf

[3] Stone, P. (2008). Opting out?: Why women really quit careers and head home. Univ of California Press.

Collins, C. (2019). Making Motherhood Work: How Women Manage Careers and Caregiving. Princeton University Press.

[4] McClean, E. J., Martin, S. R., Emich, K. J., & Woodruff, C. T. (2018). The social consequences of voice: An examination of voice type and gender on status and subsequent leader emergence. Academy of Management Journal, 61(5), 1869-1891.

Eagly, A.H. & Carli, L. L. (2007). Through the labyrinth: The truth about how women become leaders. Harvard Business Press.

[5] Yang, T., & Aldrich, H. E. (2014). Who’s the boss? Explaining gender inequality in entrepreneurial teams. American Sociological Review, 79(2), 303-327.

Cardador, M. T. (2017). Promoted Up But Also Out? The Unintended Consequences of Increasing Women’s Representation in Managerial Roles in Engineering. Organization Science, 28(4), 597-617.

[6] Desai, S. D., Chugh, D., & Brief, A. P. (2014). The implications of marriage structure for men’s workplace attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors toward women. Administrative Science Quarterly, 59(2), 330-365.

[7] Cardador, M. T. (2017). Promoted Up But Also Out? The Unintended Consequences of Increasing Women’s Representation in Managerial Roles in Engineering. Organization Science, 28(4), 597-617.

[8] Goldin, Claudia, and Cecilia Rouse. 2000. “Orchestrating Impartiality: The Impact of “Blind” Auditions on Female Musicians.” American Economic Review, 90 (4): 715-741.

[9] Kang, S. K., DeCelles, K. A., Tilcsik, A., & Jun, S. (2016). Whitened resumes: Race and self-presentation in the labor market. Administrative Science Quarterly, 61(3), 469-502.

[10] Rivera, L. A. (2012). Hiring as cultural matching: The case of elite professional service firms. American sociological review, 77(6), 999-1022.

[11] Besley, T., Folke, O., Persson, T., & Rickne, J. (2017). Gender quotas and the crisis of the mediocre man: Theory and evidence from Sweden. American economic review, 107(8), 2204-42.

Kim, D., & Starks, L. T. (2016). Gender diversity on corporate boards: Do women contribute unique skills?. American Economic Review, 106(5), 267-7.

[12] Kramer, V.W., Konrad, A.M., Erkut, S. and Hooper, M.J., 2006. Critical mass on corporate boards: Why three or more women enhance governance. Wellesley, MA: Wellesley Centers for Women.

Kim, D., & Starks, L. T. (2016). Gender diversity on corporate boards: Do women contribute unique skills?. American Economic Review, 106(5), 267-7

[13] Naomi Titleman Colla, Sponsorship is an important key to unlocking women’s career potential, The Globe and Mail: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/management/sponsorship-is-an-important-key-to-unlocking-womens-career-potential/article38204533/

Women of Influence, “What’s holding women back: A look at female ambition in Canada”: https://www.womenofinfluence.ca/2016/01/11/whats-holding-women-back-a-look-at-female-ambition-in-canada/#.XJkhnBNKiV4

[14] Dobbin, F., & Kalev, A. (2016). Why diversity programs fail. Harvard Business Review, 94(7), 14.

[15] Alyson Colón, Does diversity training work?, Institute for Gender and the Economy: https://www.gendereconomy.org/does-diversity-training-work/

[16] Reskin, B. F., & Hartmann, H. I. (Eds.). (1986). Women’s work, men’s work: Sex segregation on the job. National Academies Press.

[17] Correll, S. J. (2001). Gender and the career choice process: The role of biased self-assessments. American journal of Sociology, 106(6), 1691-1730.

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Published

April 23, 2019

This research brief was funded by the Government of Canada’s Labour Program for the Women in the Workplace Symposium that took place at Rotman on May 09/10, 2019.

The opinions and interpretations in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Government of Canada.

To see more from this event, check out #Womenintheworkplace.

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April 7, 2019
The gender wage gap
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Download this research brief (in English/en Français).

Download the infographic (in English/en Français).

Overview

The gender wage gap is the difference in remuneration for paid work between women and men. There are many ways to calculate the gap, depending on what employment dynamics you want to identify.[1] Failure to offer equal pay for equal work, where women are paid less than men for performing the same job, accounts for a ~95 cent wage gap. More of the wage gap is explained by mothers who change jobs to ones with greater flexibility to manage their carework responsibilities. This often means switching to jobs that pay less and takes the wage gap to ~88 cents. When comparing annual earnings for both part-time and full-time workers in Canada, an even larger gender wage gap exists of ~70 cents, primarily because women more often work part-time in order to accommodate carework responsibilities.[2]

In Canada, the gender wage gap ranges from 95 cents to 70 cents.

Sources of the gender wage gap

The gender wage gap varies by race and ethnicity.[3] According to The 2011 National Household Survey, when full-time median employment income is analyzed there is a ~92 cent wage gap between visible and non-visible minority women and a ~72 cent wage gap between visible minority men and women.[4] Earnings disparities are evident among transgender individuals as well. The 2011 Trans PULSE survey finds that while 71% of trans people in Ontario surveyed have at least some college or university education, about half make $15,000 per year or less.[5]

One major cause of the wage gap is job segregation. A whole host of factors conspire to segregate women into occupational fields that pay less,[6] such as childcare and retail.[7] Within firms, this might mean that women end up in internal, back-office roles rather than external or revenue-producing roles. Women also confront a motherhood penalty. Mothers are perceived to be less competent, and the time they take off work to have children decelerates salary raises and promotions.[8]

People looking to get ahead in their jobs must often work long hours, but the gendered allocation of family responsibilities prevents women from being able to do this.[9] As a result, jobs requiring employees to work long hours produce some of the largest wage gaps.[10]

How to address the gender wage gap

Several efforts have been put forth for addressing the gender wage gap, some of which have mixed results:
- Pay transparency: Pay transparency (such as Provincial Sunshine laws) can reduce the wage gap. Recent regulation in the UK has mainly highlighted the dearth of women in top earning roles and has had less to say about actual problems with equal pay for equal work. Compelling pay transparency may risk that companies focus on public relations rather than on substantive change.[11]
- Pay equity: Canada is a leader in Pay Equity legislation. Evidence suggests that pay equity has provided gains for women working in the public sector but because its application is focused on relatively narrow comparisons of job classes, it has not had a substantial impact on the larger wage gap.[12]
- Salary history bans: Because women have wage disparities beginning with their first job, salary history bans (in which employers are prohibited from asking potential employees about prior salaries) could be a helpful intervention in preventing the gap from widening.[13] However, employers can also find ways around the ban by asking about salary expectations instead of previous salaries.[14]
Management might also consider:
- Redesign job structures: In the pharmacy industry, technological improvements to job design such as the standardization of procedures and the creation of online databases, have decreased the costs of temporal flexibility for female pharmacists, and basically closed the gender wage gap in that field. [15]
- Reconsider valorizing working long hours: In many professions, it may be assumed that long hours and extensive “face time” is associated with top performance. But, some of those assumptions are out dated. Leaders can transform workplace cultures that place too much emphasis on working long hours and instead focus on outcomes.[16]
- Support more accessible childcare: As long as family responsibilities are unequally shared, the gender gap is not likely to close.[17] Providing affordable and accessible onsite childcare or subsidizing access to other child care sources may help parents who wish to work full-time.
- Provide growth opportunities: Many organizations assume that mothers are not interested in advancement or tough assignments that might lead to promotions. Organizations can do a better job of giving opportunities to people who want them and would benefit from them.
References

[1] Rubery, J., & Grimshaw, D. (2014). The 40-year pursuit of equal pay: a case of constantly moving goalposts. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 39(2), 319-343.

[2] Canadian Women’s Foundation, The Facts About The Gender Wage Gap in Canada: https://www.canadianwomen.org/the-facts/the-wage-gap/

Sarah Kaplan, The Motherhood Penalty, University of Toronto Magazine: https://magazine.utoronto.ca/opinion/the-motherhood-penalty-gender-wage-gap-sarah-kaplan/

[3] Kate McInturff, The Gendered And Racialized Wage Gap, Canadian Women’s Foundation: https://www.canadianwomen.org/deficit-worth-worrying-gendered-racialized-wage-gap/

[4] Statistics Canada, Visible Minority Women: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/89-503-x/2015001/article/14315-eng.htm

[5] Bauer G, Nussbaum N, Travers R, Munro L, Pyne J, Redman N. We’ve Got Work to Do: Workplace Discrimination and Employment Challenges for Trans People in Ontario. Trans PULSE e-Bulletin, 30 May, 2011. 2(1). Downloadable in English or French at http://www.transpulseproject.ca

[6] Petersen, T., & Morgan, L. A. (1995). Separate and unequal: Occupation-establishment sex segregation and the gender wage gap. American Journal of Sociology, 101(2), 329-365.

Reskin, B. F., & Roos, P. A. (2009). Job queues, gender queues: Explaining women’s inroads into male occupations. Temple University Press.

Levanon, A., England, P., & Allison, P. (2009). Occupational feminization and pay: Assessing causal dynamics using 1950–2000 US census data. Social Forces, 88(2), 865-891.

[7] England, P., Budig, M., & Folbre, N. (2002). Wages of virtue: The relative pay of care work. Social problems, 49(4), 455-473.

[8] Budig, M. J., & England, P. (2001). The wage penalty for motherhood. American sociological review, 204-225.

Budig, M. J., Misra, J., & Boeckmann, I. (2012). The motherhood penalty in cross-national perspective: The importance of work-family policies and cultural attitudes. Social Politics, 19(2), 163-193.

Kleven, H., Landais, C., and Søgaard J. E.. (2018). “Children and Gender Inequality: Evidence from Denmark.” Working Paper. National Bureau of Economic Research, 1-57.

[9] Acker, J. (1990). Hierarchies, jobs, bodies: A theory of gendered organizations. Gender & Society, 4(2), 139-158.

Reid, E. (2015). Embracing, passing, revealing, and the ideal worker image: How people navigate expected and experienced professional identities. Organization Science, 26(4), 997-1017.

[10] Goldin, C., 2014. A grand gender convergence: Its last chapter. American Economic Review, 104(4), pp.1091–1119.

[11] Sarah Kaplan, The Motherhood Penalty, University of Toronto Magazine: https://magazine.utoronto.ca/opinion/the-motherhood-penalty-gender-wage-gap-sarah-kaplan/

[12] Singh, P., & Peng, P. (2010). Canada’s bold experiment with pay equity. Gender in Management: An International Journal, 25(7), 570-585.

[13] Corbett, C., & Hill, C. (2012). Graduating to a Pay Gap: The Earnings of Women and Men One Year after College Graduation. American Association of University Women.

Christina Cauterucci, Equal Pay Legislation Banning Salary History Questions Is Absolutely Based in Data, Slate: https://slate.com/human-interest/2017/04/equal-pay-legislation-banning-salary-history-questions-is-based-in-data.html

[14] Adler, Laura. 2019. “You’re Worth What You’re Paid: Why Employers Use Past Pay to Set Future Pay.” Working Paper. Harvard University.

[15] Goldin, C., & Katz, L. F. (2016). A most egalitarian profession: pharmacy and the evolution of a family-friendly occupation. Journal of Labor Economics, 34(3), 705-746.

[16] Goldin, C., 2014. A grand gender convergence: Its last chapter. American Economic Review, 104(4), pp.1091–1119.

[17] Angelov, N., Johansson, P. and Lindahl, E., 2016. Parenthood and the gender gap in Pay. Journal of Labor Economics, 34(3), pp.545-579.

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Published

April 23, 2019

This research brief was funded by the Government of Canada’s Labour Program for the Women in the Workplace Symposium that took place at Rotman on May 09/10, 2019.

The opinions and interpretations in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Government of Canada.

To see more from this event, check out #Womenintheworkplace.

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April 6, 2019
Harassment and violence in the era of #MeToo
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Download this research brief (in English/en Français).

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Overview

In 2016, 4% of Canadian women reported being sexually harassed in the workplace, compared with less than 1% of men. Due to underreporting, however, these numbers may be higher. Certain groups of women are more vulnerable than others: Aboriginal women were more likely to report sexual harassment at work than non-Aboriginal women (10% versus 4%), and lesbian or bisexual women were more likely to report having experienced sexual harassment than heterosexual women (11% versus 4%).[1]

Approximately every six days, a woman in Canada is killed by her intimate partner.[2] Aboriginal women, including First Nations, Inuit and Métis women, are six times more likely to be killed by their partners than non-Aboriginal women.[3] Transgender people are almost twice as likely to report experiencing intimate partner violence than cisgender women and men.[4]

Victims of sexual harassment and violence also experience psychological trauma, which makes it difficult to focus on work.[5] Many victims experience lower work productivity, increased use of sick leave, and higher job turnover due to toxic work environments.[6]

In 2016, 4% of Canadian women reported being sexually harassed at work.

Consequences of sexual harassment and violence at work

Sexual harassment claims are prevalent in traditionally male-dominated industries, such as policing, firefighting, mining, the military, finance, and construction work. However, low-wage workers are most vulnerable to harassment: women working in hotel service, restaurant, and caregiving are most likely to suffer sexual harassment.[7] Those most vulnerable to sexual violence at work are children that are in forced into labour, forced and bonded labourers, migrant workers, domestic workers, health services workers, and sex workers.[8]

Victims of harassment and violence are often compelled to leave their job, and subsequently start over in a new position. This may impede progression up the career ladder.[9] Those experiencing harassment may also be held back from leadership roles, especially if the harasser has decision-making authority for promotions. Women in leadership may also be subject to harassment if they are seen as too “uppity.”[10]

Experiencing violence at home makes it difficult to maintain a job. Victims of abuse experience higher rates of depression, or may call in sick in order to recover from and hide injuries.[11] Abusers may prevent victims from getting to work, causing them to be late or to miss work altogether. Abusers may excessively call, email, or text victims while they are at work, or stalk their victim. Victims may have to move to escape violence.[12]

Ways to combat sexual harassment and violence at work

Because sexual harassment and violence are underreported—often due to fear of professional retaliation—it is difficult to combat.[13] Groups that are already marginalized along lines of race and citizenship are less likely to report harassment and violence. As a result, harassment and violence can become a normalized part of everyday life.[14]

The #MeToo movement has had an unintended consequence that further disadvantages women: male executives have publicly stated that their fear of being accused of harassment has led them to stop offering the mentorship or sponsorship women need to advance their careers.[15]

There are several measures firms can take to encourage deterrence and reporting of sexual harassment and violence in the workplace:
- Name the behaviour: Employers can provide specific guidelines and examples of what they consider as sexual harassment and violence (e.g. crude jokes, displaying sexual screensavers or porn, sexual advances, or repeated unwanted requests for a date) to increase awareness of inappropriate and illegal behaviour.
- Improving reporting mechanisms: New web-based tools can improve reporting by allowing victims to decide when and how a report advances and by flagging repeat offenders more effectively.
- Bystander training: While evidence on the effectiveness of anti-harassment training is mixed, bystander training has been found to be more effective.[16] Bystanders can learn to disrupt sexual harassment and assault before it happens.[17]
- Buy-in from leadership: Leaders must champion changes in organizational culture by taking an explicit stance against sexual harassment and violence. They must deal with it expediently when it does occur, regardless of the job performance of the perpetrator.
- Continue to mentor and sponsor women: Executives must continue to mentor and sponsor women in order to help them advance in their careers.
References

[1] Hango, D., & Moyser, M. (2018). Harassment in Canadian Workplaces. Statistics Canada/Statisique Canada.

[2] https://www.canadianwomen.org/the-facts/gender-based-violence/

[3] Statistics Canada: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/89-503-x/2010001/article/11442-eng.htm#a34

[4] Canadian Labour Congress: http://canadianlabour.ca/issues-research/domestic-violence-work

[5] Ibid

[6] U.S. Equal Employment Commission: https://www.eeoc.gov//

[7] Gruber, J., & Morgan, P. (Eds.). (2005). In the company of men: Male dominance and sexual harassment. Northeastern University Press

Welsh, S., Carr, J., MacQuarrie, B., & Huntley, A. (2006). “I’m Not Thinking of It as Sexual Harassment” Understanding Harassment across Race and Citizenship. Gender & Society, 20(1), 87-107.

[8] Cruz, A., & Klinger, S. (2011). Gender-based violence in the world of work: Overview and selected annotated bibliography. Geneva: International Labour Office.

[9] Mueller, C. W., De Coster, S., & Estes, S. B. (2001). Sexual harassment in the workplace: Unanticipated consequences of modern social control in organizations. Work and Occupations, 28(4), 411-446.

[10] Berdahl, J. L. (2007). The sexual harassment of uppity women. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(2), 425.

[11] Welsh, S. (1999). Gender and sexual harassment. Annual review of sociology, 25(1), 169-190.

[12] Canadian Labour Congress: http://canadianlabour.ca/issues-research/domestic-violence-work

[13] Feldblum, C. and Lipnic, V. (2016). Report of co-chairs. Select Task Force on the Study of Harassment in the Workplace, US. EEOC. https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/task_force/harassment/

Golshan, T. (2017). Study Finds 75 Percent of Workplace Harassment Victims Experienced Retaliation When They Spoke Up. https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/10/15/16438750/weinstein-sexual-harassment-facts

[14] Welsh et al. 2006

[15] Miller, C. C. (2017). Unintended consequences of sexual harassment scandals. New York Times.

[16] Schulte, Brigid. 2018. To combat harassment, more companies should try bystander training. Harvard Business Review.

[17] Orchowski, L. M., Berry-Cabán, C. S., Prisock, K., Borsari, B., & Kazemi, D. M. (2018). Evaluations of sexual assault prevention programs in military settings: a synthesis of the research literature. Military medicine, 183, 421-428.

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Published

April 23, 2019

This research brief was funded by the Government of Canada’s Labour Program for the Women in the Workplace Symposium that took place at Rotman on May 09/10, 2019.

The opinions and interpretations in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Government of Canada.

To see more from this event, check out #Womenintheworkplace.

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April 5, 2019