ASSESSING PROXY USE AND OUTCOMES IN THE BROADER PUBLIC SECTOR 2009/2010

RESULTS AND ANALYSIS

Ontario Pay Equity Commission, Pay Equity Office

Report prepared by Sandra Tam, Program Specialist

July 26, 2010

An electronic copy of this publication is available on the Pay Equity Commission’s Website at www.payequity.gov.on.ca

ISBN 978-1-4435-8240-7 (Print)

ISBN 978-1-4435-8241-4 (HTML)

ISBN 978-1-4435-8242-1 (PDF)

http://www.payequity.gov.on.ca/

ASSESSING PROXY USE AND OUTCOMES IN THE BROADER PUBLIC SECTOR 2009/2010 RESULTS AND ANALYSIS Executive Summary..................................................................................................................................3

The Project ...............................................................................................................................................4

Background ...........................................................................................................................................4

About the “Assessing Proxy Use and Outcomes” Project .....................................................................4

What was Done.....................................................................................................................................5

Profile of Organizations that Responded ..................................................................................................5

Overall Response Rate .........................................................................................................................5

Responses by Location.........................................................................................................................5

Responses by Program Area ................................................................................................................6

Responses by Union/ Non- Union Status..............................................................................................6

Responses by Number of Employees...................................................................................................6

Reported Level of Pay Equity Achievement..............................................................................................8

Level of Pay Equity Achievement by Program Area..............................................................................8

Female Job Classes and Wage Gaps ....................................................................................................10

Amounts of Hourly Wage Gaps...........................................................................................................10

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Wage Gaps as a Proportion of Current Hourly Job Rates ..................................................................11

By How Much Have Hourly Wage Gaps Been Closed........................................................................12

Estimates of Time to Achieve Pay Equity............................................................................................12

Changes to Job Rates ............................................................................................................................14

How Pay Equity Adjustments are Determined ....................................................................................14

Amounts and Percentage Increases to Job Rates ..............................................................................14

Job Rates in Childcare and Services for People with Disabilities .......................................................15

Job Rates of Five Occupations ...........................................................................................................16

Comments on Pay Equity Outcomes ..................................................................................................17

Discussion ..............................................................................................................................................18

APPENDIX..............................................................................................................................................19

Schedule and Appendix of the Pay Equity Act ....................................................................................19

Cover Letter ........................................................................................................................................25

Questionnaire ......................................................................................................................................26

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In December 2009, the Pay Equity Office conducted a survey of 3,765 organizations that received an Order to use the proxy method of pay equity in 1993/94. The goal of the project was to gather information to assess proxy use and outcomes in broader public sector (BPS) organizations. Organizations were asked about their level of pay equity achievement, their female jobs, job rates and wage gaps. The results draw a picture of uneven achievement and moderate gains.

Based on responses from 674 organizations, the results indicate that pay equity achievement is uneven across program areas. Overall, sixty-one percent of respondent organizations closed the wage gap for at least one job class. The share of health services organizations (69%) and nursing homes (83%) that closed all wage gaps was higher than in other program areas. None of the legal clinics or Natives services reported having closed all wage gaps.

Based on reported information about job classes, job rates and wage gaps, 42% of the job classes were reported as no longer having an hourly wage gap. Of those job classes that still have a wage gap, most have gaps that are less than $4.00 per hour or less than 40% of the current job rate. On average, hourly wage gaps across the respondent organizations have been closed by 69% since 1994.

While estimated time to achieve pay equity varies by program areas, it will take at least another 10 years before pay equity is fully achieved for this group of organizations based on a projection of the average reported yearly adjustments from the survey. The actual time to achieve pay equity may be longer than estimated if it is the case that organizations that responded to the survey were more likely to have made progress or been successful in their implementation of pay equity than those that did not respond.

Pay equity adjustments should increase the wages of female job classes in BPS organizations. Indeed the survey results show that, overall, workers in the organizations that responded to the survey experienced a median hourly job rate increase of 38% or $6.05 per hour from 1994 and 2009.

Since pay equity is implemented at the level of the establishment, it is meaningful to examine pay equity outcomes in specific program areas, locations and positions. Two examples show how wages have increased in childcare in Toronto and services for people with disabilities in the West. Changes to job rates were examined for five common occupations in organizations using proxy method—clerks, early childhood educators and assistants, nurse, social worker and youth/ social services worker. According to the survey, these employees experienced moderate increases to their wages.

Surveyed organizations identified the lack of funding as the main barrier they face in effectively reaching pay equity target rates set by proxy job comparisons in 1993/94.

Overall compliance rates cannot be extrapolated from these results.

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THE PROJECT

Background Pay equity is equal pay for work of equal value. The purpose of the Pay Equity Act (the Act) is to redress systemic gender discrimination in the compensation of work primarily performed by women. The proxy method of pay equity was introduced in the 1993 amendments to the Act. The method was intended to allow more women, particularly those in female-dominated organizations in the broader public sector to achieve pay equity. It was estimated that 420,000 women would be affected by the 1993 amendments; 80,000 of those would have been from the Broader Public Sector and affected by proxy the provisions.1

Using the proxy method, a “seeking employer” borrowed job and salary information about similar female job classes from another public sector employer called a “proxy employer.” Seeking employers selected a proxy employer based on the proxy schedule in the Appendix of the Act (reproduced in the appendix of this report) according to their organization type and program area. Seeking employers included a mix of people-focused social and health services organizations geared towards meeting the needs of children, infants, youth, elderly people, people who are physically or mentally ill, people with disabilities (physical, mental or developmental), people on low income, new immigrants, women and Aboriginal people. Proxy employers were mostly larger municipalities or hospitals.

Job comparisons were made between the seeking organization’s female job classes and the proxy female job classes using a proportional value method of comparison. Pay equity adjustments were determined that enabled pay equity to be achieved. Employers using the proxy method are required to distribute a minimum of 1% of the previous year’s payroll for pay equity adjustments according to the rules set by the Act until pay equity is achieved.

About the “Assessing Proxy Use and Outcomes” Project The goal of the project was to gather information to assess proxy use and outcomes in broader public sector (BPS) organizations. The project’s objectives were:

1. To report the level of pay equity achievement

2. To indicate the extent to which wage gaps have been closed

3. To describe changes in job rates

This document presents an overview of the findings.

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1 The proportional value method was also introduced in the amendments.  Source: Q&A materials for third reading of Bill 102, An Act to amend the Pay Equity Act. 

What was Done In December 2009, a cover letter and questionnaire (appendix) was sent to executive directors of 3,765 organizations that were issued an Order by the Pay Equity Office (PEO) to implement pay equity using the proxy method. Responses were received between January and March, 2010.

The survey asked questions about the organization’s program area and employees, the level of pay equity achievement, job classes and job rates from 1994 and 2009 (current).

This project used a non-random survey design. The results describe the pay equity outcomes for the organizations that responded based on their survey responses.

PROFILE OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT RESPONDED

Overall Response Rate From the 3,765 questionnaires sent out, 674 were completed and 1097 were “undeliverable.” The undeliverables included organizations that no longer existed or moved without a forwarding address and a few duplicate entries from the original mailing list.

The overall response rate was 25% (excluding the undeliverables).

There were a number of factors that would have had an effect on the response rate. First, it was expected that many of the organizations may no longer be in business since the proxy Orders were issued in 1993/94. Second, the organizations received the survey in early December when they would have been busy with holiday or year-end planning or programming. In the busyness of the season, the questionnaire may have not been a priority task. Lastly, the PEO did not send reminders to complete the survey due to limited resources.

Responses by Location Responses were received from all regions (Table 1). There was slightly lower representation from the Central, West and Toronto and higher representation from the East and North compared to their percentages in 1993/94.

TABLE 1: RESPONSES BY LOCATION

Central East North West Toronto Total

Percent of responses 16% 23% 14% 25% 22% 100%

(674)

Percent of organizations that received proxy Order in 1993/94

18% 19% 11% 29% 23% 100% (3,765)

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Responses by Program Area Responses were received from all program areas (Table 2). In two areas the proportion of responses was slightly lower than their representation from 1993/94. Health services organizations made up 8% of responses and nursing home, 3% but these program areas made up 12% and 7% of organization that received a proxy Order in 1993/94.

While there was reasonable representation from all program areas, the results only describe the situation for those organizations that responded because the sample was non-random.

For descriptions of the categories, see the Appendix of the Act (in the appendix of this report).

Responses by Union/ Non- Union Status Both unionized and non-unionized organizations responded to the survey. Three quarters of the responses came from non-unionized organizations.

Responses by Number of Employees Most of the organizations – 85% - that responded to the survey had fewer than 100 employees (Table 3). In total, the organizations reported that they employed 33,803 employees, 87% (or 29,248) of whom were women.

TABLE 2: RESPONSES BY NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES IN THE ORGANIZATION

Number of Employees Percent of responses

less than 10 30%

10 to 49 42%

50 to 99 13%

100 to 499 14%

500 or more 1%

Total 100% (674)

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TABLE 3: RESPONSES BY PROGRAM AREA

Program Area

Percent of organizations that received proxy Orders in 1993/94

Percent of responses

Percent of non- respondents

Childcare/daycare 37% 37% 43%

Services for people with disabilities 6% 13% 5%

Children and family services 9% 9% 8%

Health 12% 8% 11%

Services for seniors 5% 7% 4%

Women’s services/shelters 4% 4% 4%

Library 2% 4% 2%

Counselling or referral services 3% 3% 3%

Nursing home 7% 3% 10%

Legal clinics 2% 2% 1%

Other 4% 2% 4%

Accommodation services 2% 2% 2%

Immigrant/settlement services 1% 1% 1%

Cultural organizations 0% 1% 0%

Correctional services 2% 1% 1%

Native services 1% 1% 1%

Community or recreation centres 1% 1% 1%

municipality 1% 0% 0%

School/ school board 1% 0% 1%

Employment services 1% 0% 0%

Total 100% (3,765) 100% (674) 100% (1994)

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REPORTED LEVEL OF PAY EQUITY ACHIEVEMENT All but 6% of the organizations that responded to the survey reported some progress in their achievement of pay equity (Table 4). Sixty-one percent of respondent organizations closed the wage gap for at least one job class. Thirty–five percent of the organizations reported having closed all wage gaps meaning that the pay equity target rate has been reached for all female job classes (i.e. pay equity has been achieved in the organization). Just over a quarter of the organizations reported having closed some wage gaps, meaning that the pay equity target rate has been met for some but not all female job classes. Less than a third of respondent organizations are still making required pay equity adjustments to all of their female jobs.

TABLE 4: REPORTED LEVEL OF PAY EQUITY ACHIEVEMENT

Level of Pay Equity Achievement in the Organization Percent of responses

ALL wage gaps closed 35%

SOME wage gaps closed 26%

Still making pay equity adjustments to all job classes 32%

Still developing pay equity plans or status unknown 6%

Total 100% (674)

Level of Pay Equity Achievement by Program Area The proportion of organizations in each program area varied in terms of the level of pay equity achievement (Table 5). The share of health services organizations (69%) and nursing homes (83%) that closed all wage gaps was higher than in other program areas. Approximately half of libraries and half of counselling or referral services had achieved pay equity. In childcare, the largest group that responded, almost one in five had all wage gaps closed and in the second largest responding group, services for people with disabilities, 35% reported that they achieved pay equity rates for all jobs. None of the legal clinics or Natives services reported having closed all wage gaps.

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TABLE 5: LEVEL OF PAY EQUITY ACHIEVEMENT BY PROGRAM AREA

Program Area (number of respondent organizations)

Still developing pay equity plans/ status unknown

Still making pay equity adjustments to all job classes

SOME wage gaps closed

ALL wage gaps closed Total

Childcare/daycare (250) 8% 43% 30% 19% 100%

Services for people with disabilities (85) 2% 20% 42% 35% 100%

Children and family services (61) 0% 26% 31% 43% 100%

Health (54) 6% 11% 13% 69% 100%

Services for seniors (44) 13% 14% 16% 57% 100%

Women’s services/shelters (30) 3% 60% 17% 20% 100%

Library (29) 6% 28% 14% 52% 100%

Counselling or referral services (22) 5% 23% 18% 50% 100%

Nursing home (18) 6% 0% 11% 83% 100%

Legal clinics (16) 0% 75% 25% 0% 100%

Other (13) 8% 31% 23% 38% 100%

Accommodation services (11) 18% 36% 9% 36% 100%

Immigrant/settlement services (9) 0% 33% 22% 44% 100%

Cultural organizations (7) 0% 29% 14% 57% 100%

Correctional services (6) 0% 50% 33% 17% 100%

Native services (6) 17% 17% 67% 0% 100%

Community or recreation centres (5) 20% 20% 20% 40% 100%

Employment counselling (4) 0% 25% 25% 50% 100%

Municipality and School/ school boards (4)

50% 0% 0% 50% 100%

Total (674) 6% 32% 26% 35% 100%

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FEMALE JOB CLASSES AND WAGE GAPS Organizations were asked in the survey to list their female job classes, wage gaps, pay equity adjustments made and current job rates. Not all organizations reported on all their job class or job rate information.2 However, since pay equity is achieved when female job classes are paid at pay equity target rates as indicated by the proxy job comparisons, it is important to examine outcomes at the level of job classes.

Based on the survey responses, organizations have an average of 7 job classes. While organizations reported having between one and 70 job classes, most organizations (over three quarters) had less than ten jobs.

Amounts of Hourly Wage Gaps According to the survey responses, 42% of the job classes were reported as no longer having an hourly wage gap. Of those job classes that still have a wage gap, most have gaps that are less than $4.00 per hour. The proportion of job classes with larger wage gaps is relatively low (Table 6).

TABLE 6: CURRENT HOURLY WAGE GAP

Amount ($/hour)

Percent of job classes

0 42%

$0.01 - 1.99 17%

$2.00 - 3.99 15%

$4.00 - 5.99 10%

$6.00 - 7.99 6%

$8.00 - 9.99 4%

$10.00 - 11.99 2%

$12.00 - 13.99 1%

$14.00 - 15.99 1%

$16.00 and more 0%

Total 100% (2,952)

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2 4,509 job classes were reported from 614 organizations but not all job rates for all job classes were reported.  Some organizations reported only 1994 rates, while others reported only current 2009 rates; some were missing the amount of pay equity adjustments paid over the years.  This finding suggests that in some organizations, the problem may be lack of information or data, or a low level of knowledge about pay equity process.   

Wage Gaps as a Proportion of Current Hourly Job Rates Another way to express the wage gap is to describe it as a percentage of the current wage rate. This measure gives an indication of the significance of amounts for workers earning different rates. For example, if an employee earned $30.00 per hour, a $3.00 wage gap would be 10% of their current job rate; if that employee earned $15.00 per hour, $3.00 would be 20% of their current job rate.

Most of the job classes have wage gaps that are less than 40% of the current job rate. Only a few job classes have wage gaps that are greater than 90% of the current job rate (Table 7).

TABLE 7: WAGE GAP AS A PERCENT OF CURRENT JOB RATE

Percent of Current Hourly Job Rate

Percent of job classes

0 42%

1 - 9% 17%

10 - 19% 16%

20 - 29% 10%

30 - 39% 6%

40 - 49% 3%

50 - 59% 2%

60 - 69% 1%

70 - 79% 1%

80 - 89% 1%

90% and more 0%

Total 100% (2,818)

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By How Much Have Hourly Wage Gaps Been Closed To achieve pay equity, female job classes must reach their pay equity target rates set by the organization based on proxy job comparisons. Based on the responses, almost half of the job classes have closed more than 80% of their wage gap (Table 8). On average, hourly wage gaps have been closed by 69% since 1994.

TABLE 8: BY HOW MUCH HAVE WAGE GAPS BEEN CLOSED?

Percent of the Hourly Wage Gap Closed

Percent of Job Classes

0 - 9% 3%

10 - 19% 4%

20 - 29% 8%

30 - 39% 10%

40 - 49% 8%

50 - 59% 7%

60 - 69% 6%

70 - 79% 5%

80 - 89% 4%

90 - 100% 44%

Total 100% (2866)

Estimates of Time to Achieve Pay Equity The time to achieve was estimated based on a calculation of the average current wage gap divided by the average yearly pay equity adjustment as reported by the organizations in the program area. Overall, the average hourly wage gap for these organizations was $2.55 and the average yearly pay equity hourly adjustment was $0.25. On average, the estimated time to achieve for the responding organizations to achieve pay equity is 10 years.

The program areas varied in their estimated time to achieve with legal clinics estimated to take the longest. Since organizations are required by the Act to use a minimum of 1% of their previous year’s payroll for making pay equity adjustments to close their wage gaps, smaller organizations with smaller budgets that identified relatively large wage gaps will take the longest to achieve pay equity.

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The actual time to achieve pay equity may be longer than estimated if it is the case that organizations that responded to the survey were more likely to have made progress or been successful in their implementation of pay equity than those that did not respond.

TABLE 9: ESTIMATED TIME TO ACHIEVE PAY EQUITY BY PROGRAM AREA

Program Area

Average current

hourly wage gap

Average yearly pay

equity adjustment

Estimated years to

achieve pay equity

Legal clinics $7.09 0.36 20

Accommodation $3.53 0.19 19

Community or recreation centres $1.97 0.12 17

Other $3.67 0.23 16

Childcare/daycare $4.10 0.27 15

Women’s services/shelters $4.03 0.28 14

Native services $4.43 0.37 12

Services for seniors $2.05 0.20 10

Services for people with disabilities $1.79 0.21 9

Correctional services $2.43 0.31 8

Services for Children and Families $1.86 0.27 7

Immigrant/settlement services $2.52 0.37 7

Cultural organizations $1.56 0.28 5

Health care services $1.01 0.24 4

Counselling or referral services $1.19 0.29 4

Library $0.88 0.26 3

Nursing home $0.42 0.15 3

Total (614 organizations) $2.55 0.25 10

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CHANGES TO JOB RATES

How Pay Equity Adjustments are Determined Pay equity is a self-managed process. While employers using the proxy method are responsible for making adjustments in accordance with the requirements of the legislation, there is no set minimum or maximum salary increase dictated. The amount of pay equity increase is not based upon a percentage of the individual’s salary or size of the wage gap. The actual increases to salaries will vary across job classes and organizations.

The following section describes changes to job rates of common jobs and organizations covering two program areas. This kind of analysis provides some indication of the impact pay equity has had on employees in various job classes.

Amounts and Percentage Increases to Job Rates Overall, workers in the organizations that responded to the survey experienced a median hourly job rate increase of 38% or $6.05 per hour from 1994 and 2009 (Table 10). Job classes at the lower end of the earnings range increased by approximately the same percentage as those at the upper end (jobs at the 10th percentile increased by 41%; jobs at the 90th percentile increased by 40%). A portion of these increases may be attributed to pay equity adjustments. The reported current rates may contain general wage increases as well as pay equity adjustments.

Data from Statistics Canada is presented in Table 11 for a general comparison. On average from 1997 to 2009 women workers in Ontario experienced a 43% increase in their hourly earnings compared to 38% increase for men (Table 11). The average 2009 job rate appears to be higher in the respondent organizations than for women overall in Ontario.

TABLE 10: HOURLY WAGE INCREASES OF RESPONDENT ORGANIZATIONS

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1994 job rate

($/hour)2009 job rate

($/hour)

amount increase ($/hour)

percentage increase

Minimum (minimum wage) 6.35 9.50 3.15 50%

10th percentile 10.23 14.43 4.20 41%

25th percentile 12.83 17.61 4.78 37%

Median 16.00 22.05 6.05 38%

75th percentile 20.64 28.57 7.93 38%

90th percentile 25.93 36.43 10.50 40%

Average 17.36 24.09 6.73 39%

TABLE 11: AVERAGE HOURLY EARNINGS, ALL WORKERS, 15 YEARS AND OVER, ONTARIO,

STATISTICS CANADA (CANSIM TABLE 2820070)

1997 ($/hour) 2009 ($/hour)

amount increase ($/hour)

percentage increase

Women 14.65 21.01 6.36 43%

Men 17.86 24.56 6.70 38%

Job Rates in Childcare and Services for People with Disabilities Since pay equity is implemented at the level of the establishment, it is meaningful to examine pay equity outcomes in specific program areas and locations. The following two examples demonstrate how wages have increased for specific jobs in two program areas—childcare in Toronto (Table 12) and services for people with disabilities in western Ontario (Table 13). Most of these jobs have experienced moderate wage increases from 1994 to 2009.

TABLE 12: HOURLY JOB RATES FOR CHILDCARE ORGANIZATIONS IN TORONTO

1994 2009

Low ($/hr)

average($/hr)

High ($/hr)

Low ($/hr)

average($/hr)

High ($/hr)

amount increase

(average)

percent increase

(average)

ECE/ teacher

9.25 15.93 24.87 11.31 21.74 36.76 5.81 36%

ECE/ teacher assistant

6.80 12.54 20.19 10.18 15.93 23.16 3.39 27%

cook 6.80 11.84 16.74 10.16 15.43 24.17 3.59 30%

Assistant supervisor

15.87 19.31 24.23 16.75 24.93 34.05 5.62 29%

Director/ supervisor

12.50 21.94 32.12 18.20 31.90 48.08 9.96 45%

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TABLE 13: SERVICES FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN THE WEST

1994 2009 Low

($/hour) Average ($/hour)

High ($/hour)

Low ($/hour)

Average ($/hour)

High ($/hour)

amount increase (average)

percent increase (average)

Director 18.99 24.22 34.05 22.20 35.25 48.61 11.03 46%

Manager 15.14 19.79 27.31 22.39 28.29 35.82 8.50 43%

Administrative Assistant

10.49 14.20 23.39 16.32 21.03 29.02 6.83 48%

Support Worker 11.04 14.42 19.87 14.99 20.70 29.29 6.28 44%

Counsellor 12.06 14.68 17.10 15.83 19.51 22.39 4.83 33%

Causal / Relief/ Part-time Support

8.32 11.33 14.14 10.85 16.76 19.04 5.43 48%

Job Rates of Five Occupations Changes to job rates can be examined for different occupations. Table 14 shows the hourly job rates of five jobs that are similar across different programs and organizations based on the responses from the survey. When compared to wages of similar positions reported in the government of Canada’s Labour Market Information database in 2009, the organizations using the proxy method that responded to the survey appear to have slightly higher average job rates.

TABLE 14: HOURLY JOB RATES BY OCCUPATION IN RESPONDING ORGANIZATIONS, ONTARIO

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1994 2009

Low* ($/hour)

Average ($/hour)

High* ($/hour)

Low* ($/hour)

Average ($/hour)

High* ($/hour)

amount increase

(average)

percent increase

(average)

clerk 10.82 14.83 19.51 15.24 20.97 26.00 6.14 41%

early childhood educators and assistants

9.68 13.49 17.49 13.00 18.04 23.41 4.55 34%

nurse/RN 17.61 23.95 30.62 26.92 35.12 44.26 11.17 47%

social worker 12.62 21.31 27.51 20.80 30.51 38.00 9.20 43%

youth worker 12.41 16.96 23.39 16.50 21.98 27.64 5.02 30%

*low wage is the rate at the 10th percentile of the wage distribution; high wage is the rate at the 90th percentile

TABLE 15: HOURLY WAGES FOR SELECTED OCCUPATIONS, ONTARIO, 2009

Low* ($/hour)

Average ($/hour)

High* ($/hour)

general office clerk 11.00 16.75 24.00

early childhood educators and assistants 10.60 15.35 22.45

Nurse 25.75 34.70 40.50

social worker 17.30 28.20 38.50

social service worker 13.55 20.20 26.90

*low wage is the rate at the 10th percentile of the wage distribution; high wage is the rate at the 90th percentile. Source: Government of Canada. Labour Market Information, Wages and Salaries, http:www.labourmarketinformatio.ca. Accessed on July 22, 2010

.

Comments on Pay Equity Outcomes The organizations provided a range of comments about their experience with the pay equity process and outcomes. Some comments referred to the misunderstanding and challenges of implementation. Others mentioned how long it would take to achieve pay equity and the enduring inequalities between community-based organizations and their comparator organizations. By far, the most common barrier to achieving pay equity identified by the organizations was lack of funding.

“As a non-profit agency, funding is from parent fees and government subsidies. We cannot raise fees because then childcare becomes unaffordable.”

“The provincial freeze on public funding and uncertainty of municipal funding for proxy pay equity will continue the wage gap, making the target rate nearly impossible to obtain.”

“[We do no have] enough understanding of proxy due to government change—we are unsure of what we need to be doing.”

“[Pay Equity is a] very slow process. The target job rate now is much higher and we’re receiving 1% increase (10 to 16 cents/hour/year)”

“Anticipated implementation by 2025/26. [It is] complicated to handle for a small office. [Adjustments are] meaningless due to long-term inflation.”

“Process never took into account the natural movement up the pay scale of the comparator positions. Once we reached 1994 pay equity rates 10 years later, a new gap had opened up.”

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18 DISCUSSION This project marks an initial effort by the PEO to gather and assess outcome data in a systematic way for organizations using the proxy method. Until now, data on individual files has been available on a case by case basis.

The results of this survey on proxy pay equity use and outcomes demonstrate that while some progress has been made on achievement levels and on increasing job rates in job classes in the respondent organizations, the effects can be characterized as uneven and moderate. Job rates have increased moderately, slightly more in some areas and jobs than others. Thirty-five percent of organizations managed to close their wage gaps entirely but for others it may take up to 20 years before they reach pay equity target jobs rates set in 1994.

If it is the case that the organizations that did not respond to the survey have relatively large wage gaps, smaller budgets (requirement is to spend a minimum of 1% of previous year’s payroll for adjustments) and/or less knowledge of the process and requirements, the proportion of all organizations that used the proxy method and that have fully achieved pay equity may be lower than the reported levels, and the timeframes for achievement may be longer in reality.

This survey reports on the pay equity achievement level and outcomes in terms of job classes and job rates for organizations based on their responses. It was not set up to confirm compliance rates or to verify that organizations followed the legislative requirements.

APPENDIX

Schedule and Appendix of the Pay Equity Act

ONTARIO REGULATION 396/93

PROXY METHOD OF COMPARISON

Consolidation Period: From July 1, 2010 to the e-Laws currency date.

Last amendment: O. Reg. 93/10.

1. (1) In this Regulation,

“child treatment service” means a child treatment service as defined in the Child and Family Services Act; (“service de traitement de l’enfant”)

“children’s treatment centre” means a hospital classified as a Group K hospital in the Schedule to Regulation 964 of the Revised Regulations of Ontario, 1990 made under the Public Hospitals Act that provides services to children; (“centre de traitement pour enfants”)

“community health centre” means an employer,

(a) who provides primary health care services primarily to,

(i) a group or groups of individuals who, because of culture, sex, language, socio-economic factors or geographic isolation, would be unlikely to receive some or all of those services from other sources, or

(ii) a group or groups of individuals who, because of age, sex, socio-economic factors or environmental factors, are more likely to be in need of some or all of those services than other individuals, and

(b) who receives funding from the Ministry of Health in accordance with the number or type of services provided; (“centre de santé communautaire”)

“comprehensive health organization” means an employer,

(a) that is a not-for-profit corporation,

(b) that provides or arranges for the provision of comprehensive health care services for individuals who are enrolled as members of the patient roster of the corporation, and

(c) that receives funding from the Ministry of Health in accordance with the number of individuals on the roster; (“organisme offrant une gamme complète de services de santé”)

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http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/navigation?file=currencyDates&lang=enhttp://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/regs/french/elaws_regs_930396_f.htm#s1s1http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/regs/french/elaws_regs_930396_f.htm#s1s1

“hospital” means a hospital listed in the Schedule to Regulation 964 of the Revised Regulations of Ontario, 1990 made under the Public Hospitals Act, a private hospital operated under the authority of a licence issued under the Private Hospitals Act or a hospital approved by the Lieutenant Governor in Council as a community psychiatric hospital under the Community Psychiatric Hospitals Act; (“hôpital”)

“social services” means,

(a) the making of assessments or diagnoses of psycho-social, behavioural and related problems of individuals or families,

(b) the counselling of individuals, families or groups in relation to psycho-social, behavioural and related problems,

(c) the provision of information and education concerning psycho-social, behavioural and related problems and the making of referrals in relation to those problems,

(d) the provision of education or counselling, or

(e) the provision of crisis intervention services, mental health services, addiction treatment services, rehabilitation services, vocational services or related therapy services. (“services sociaux”) O. Reg. 396/93, s. 1 (1).

(2) Despite subsection (1), in Column 1 of the Schedule to this Regulation, “hospital” does not include a children’s treatment centre. O.Reg. 396/93, s. 1 (2).

2. (1) For the purposes of the proxy method of comparison, a seeking employer shall select as the proxy establishment a potential proxy establishment of an employer that is of the type described in Column 2 of the Schedule opposite the description in Column 1 that best describes the seeking employer. O. Reg. 396/93, s. 2 (1).

(2) In determining which description in Column 1 of the Schedule best describes a seeking employer, reference shall be made to the principal activity of or service provided by the employer. O. Reg. 396/93, s. 2 (2).

(3) If a seeking employer cannot reasonably be considered to fall within any description in Column 1 of the Schedule, the seeking employer shall select as the proxy establishment an establishment of an employer that is a hospital or a municipality. O. Reg. 396/93, s. 2 (3).

(4) The seeking employer shall select the same proxy establishment for all female job classes that are covered by the same pay equity plan. O. Reg. 396/93, s. 2 (4).

(5) The proxy establishment selected shall be,

(a) a proxy establishment whose job classes are located in the same geographic division as the seeking employer’s job classes that they are to be compared with; or

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http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/regs/french/elaws_regs_930396_f.htm#s1s2http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/regs/french/elaws_regs_930396_f.htm#s2s1http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/regs/french/elaws_regs_930396_f.htm#s2s1http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/regs/french/elaws_regs_930396_f.htm#s2s2http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/regs/french/elaws_regs_930396_f.htm#s2s3http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/regs/french/elaws_regs_930396_f.htm#s2s4http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/regs/french/elaws_regs_930396_f.htm#s2s5

(b) if no selection can be made under clause (a), the proxy establishment whose employer’s principal administrative offices are located the shortest distance from the principal administrative offices of the seeking employer. O. Reg. 396/93, s. 2 (5).

(6) For purposes of subsection (5), a job class shall be considered to be located in the geographic division in which the majority of the persons occupying positions in the job class are employed. O.Reg. 396/93, s. 2 (6).

3. A seeking employer may not enter into an agreement with another seeking employer under clause 21.16 (1) (a) of the Act unless the description in Column 1 of the Schedule that best describes the one is also the description that best describes the other. O.Reg. 396/93, s. 3.

Schedule

Item Column 1 Column 2 Seeking Employer Potential Proxy Employer

Health Care Services

1. hospital hospital 2. employer providing food services to a hospital hospital with food services 3. employer providing laundry services to hospital hospital with laundry 4. employer providing health and personal support

services (including visiting homemakers and home care facilities)

hospital

5. employer providing community alcohol and drug dependency program

hospital with psychiatric unit

6. employer providing community mental health program hospital with psychiatric unit 7. employer providing placement co-ordination services hospital 8. employer providing mental health or psychiatric

services hospital with psychiatric unit

9. employer providing vocational rehabilitation services hospital providing rehabilitation services

10. rehabilitation centre hospital providing rehabilitation services

11. any other employer providing rehabilitation services hospital providing rehabilitation services

12. public health unit public health unit operated by a regional municipality

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13. community health centre public health unit operated by a regional municipality

14. comprehensive health organization hospital 15. laboratory or specimen collection centre hospital with laboratory 16. any other employer providing health care services hospital Services for Seniors

17. long-term care home long-term care home under Part VIII of the Long-Term Care Homes Act, 2007

18. any other employer providing services for seniors long-term care home under Part VIII of the Long-Term Care Homes Act, 2007

19. Revoked: O. Reg. 93/10, s. 1. Services for People with Disabilities

20. employer providing services for persons with physical disabilities

hospital

21. employer providing accommodation services for persons with developmental disabilities if the employer is regulated by the Homes for Retarded Persons Act or the Developmental Services Act

hospital

22. association for community living hospital 23. any other employer providing services for persons with

developmental disabilities hospital

Counselling and Referral Services

24. sexual assault centre hospital providing crisis intervention services

25. interval, transition or second stage house or family resource centre

hospital providing crisis intervention services

26. any other employer providing counselling and referral services

hospital providing social or counselling services

Accommodation Services

27. home for special care municipality directly providing accommodation services

28. domiciliary hostel municipality directly providing accommodation services

29. emergency hostel municipality directly providing

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accommodation services 30. halfway house municipality directly providing

accommodation services 31. any other employer providing accommodation services municipality directly providing

accommodation services Services for Children and Families

32. children’s treatment centre hospital with paediatric unit 33. daycare centre or childcare resource centre municipality operating daycare

facility 34. private home daycare agency municipality operating daycare

facility 35. early childhood education facility municipality operating daycare

facility 36. child and family intervention services, child treatment

service or child welfare service hospital providing health services for children

37. any other employer providing children’s, youth or family intervention services (including child and youth institutions and child and youth residential services if the institution or service is licensed under the Child and Family Services Act)

hospital providing children’s youth or family counselling services

Correctional Services

38. employer providing non-residential correctional services

municipality directly providing counselling services

39. employer providing residential correctional services municipality directly providing accommodation services

40. any other employer providing correctional services municipality directly providing counselling services

Cultural Organizations

41. community information centre municipality 42. public library municipality 43. The Southern Ontario Library Services Board municipality 44. The Northern Ontario Library Service Board municipality Miscellaneous

45. community centre municipality 46. employer providing settlement and integration services

for immigrants and refugees municipality directly providing social services

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47. employer providing recreational services municipality directly providing recreational services

48. community legal clinic municipality with legal department

49. supervised access centre hospital providing social services50. district welfare administration board municipality 51. centre providing employment and vocational

counselling services for adults municipality directly providing social services

52. youth employment counselling centre municipality directly providing social services

53. native friendship centre municipality directly providing social services

54. municipality municipality 55. school board school board

O.Reg. 396/93, Sched.; O. Reg. 93/10, s. 1.

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Cover Letter November 2009

Dear Executive Director:

Re: Assessing Proxy Use in the Broader Public Sector

Currently, the Pay Equity Commission is contacting organizations that used the proxy method to implement pay equity in order to assess the levels of achievement in the broader public sector. You are being contacted because, according to our records, your organization received an order to use the proxy method to achieve pay equity.

The Commission has an obligation to ensure that employers, employees and unions comply with the Pay Equity Act (1987), with the goal of redressing and eliminating systemic gender discrimination in compensation practices. The 1993 amendments to the legislation made it possible for workers in female dominated public sectors to achieve pay equity where there are no male job classes for direct comparisons to achieve pay equity.

We are asking you to complete and return the attached questionnaire about proxy pay equity. The information you provide will help the Commission to determine how pay equity has been implemented and to assess the overall impact of pay equity in the broader public sector.

Please return the completed questionnaire and provide copies of materials if necessary by mail to 180 Dundas Street West, Suite 300. Toronto ON M7A 2S6, fax (416-314-8741) or email to the Pay Equity Office within 21 days from the date of this letter.

If you have any questions about the Pay Equity Commission, our programs or the questionnaire, please contact us by email: pecinfo.pecinfo@ontario.ca or by telephone: 1-800-387-8813 or 416-314-1896. You may also visit our website at: www.payequity.gov.on.ca.

Thank you for your cooperation.

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http://www.payequity.gov.on.ca/

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Questionnaire PROXY USE IN THE BROADER PUBLIC SECTOR 2009 Please return the completed questionnaire and provide copies of materials if necessary by mail to the Pay Equity Office, 180 Dundas Street West, Suite 300. Toronto ON M7A 2S6, fax (416-314-8741) or email (pecinfo.pecinfo@ontario.ca).

A. Basic Information Organization Name: ___________________________________________________

Address: ____________________________________________________________

City: _________________________________ Postal Code: _______________

Telephone: ____________________________ Email: ____________________

Name of contact person: _______________________________________________

Position of contact person: _____________________________________________

If you wish to respond confidentially, return the completed questionnaire without section A.

mailto:pecinfo.pecinfo@ontario.ca

B: What do you do?

1. What is the organization’s main program /service area? (select one)

Health care services Services for seniors Services for people with disabilities (physical or developmental disabilities) Counselling or referral services Accommodation services Services for children and families Correctional services Cultural organizations (e.g. community information centre, library) Immigrant/ settlement services Community or recreational centres Native friendship centre Legal clinics Youth employment counselling Other: please

specify____________________________________________________

2. Where is the organization located (refer to attached map)?

North East Central West Toronto

C. Profile of the Organization

1. How many people are employed in the organization? (include all full-time, part-time and contract) _____

2. How many employees are women? _____

3. a) What percentage of employees are unionized (0 - 100%)? _____%

b) How many separate unions/bargaining units are there in the organization? _____

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D. Pay Equity Process

1. At what stage is your organization in implementing pay equity? select either a) or b) and complete sub-questions. a) We are still developing our pay equity plan(s)

i) What barriers have you faced or are you facing in implementing or achieving pay equity?

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

ii) What kind of assistance do you require to implement or achieve pay equity?

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

b) We have completed and approved pay equity plan(s) in place.

Select the statement that best describes your situation. We are currently making pay equity adjustments to female job classes ii) SOME wage gaps have been closed or the pay equity target rate has been

met for SOME female job classes iii) ALL wage gaps have been closed or the pay equity target rate has been met

for ALL female job classes (i.e. pay equity has been achieved in the organization).

2. How many pay equity plans does the organization have (if the organization is still developing plans, how many will it have)? _____

E. Information about female job classes

Complete the table for your female job classes following the instructions on the next page. Please make copies of the blank table if you have additional job classes. If available, attach a copy of the pay equity plan(s).

Organization Name (optional)

1. Female Job Classes 2a. No. of employ-ees

2b. No. of FTEs

2c.

FTE definition(hrs/wk)

3. Pay equity target job rate ($/hr) 1994

4. Job rate ($/hr) in 1994 or when job started

5. Wage gap ($/hr) in 1994 or when job started

6. Pay equity adjust-ments paid ($/hr)

7. Job rate current ($/hr)

EXAMPLE - Social Worker 6 3 40 $25.50 $21.50 $4.00 $3.50 $25.00

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

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E. Instructions for completing the table on female job classes

1: List the all female job classes (e.g. counsellor, home care worker, administrative assistant, etc.) in your organization.

2a: Indicate the number of employees for each female job class listed in column 1.

2b: Indicate the number of full-time equivalent positions (FTEs) in the job class. That is, translate the number of employees listed in 2a to a FTE definition using hours per week. For example, if a job class has 6 employees, 2 of them work full-time, defined as 40 hours/week, and 4 of them each work 10 hours/week, the 4 part-time positions make up 1 FTE; in total there are 3 FTEs for the job class.

2c: Since the full-time work week definition is unique to each organization and can be different for different job classes, please indicate for the job class how many hours per week constitute a full-time position (i.e. What is a regular full-time work week?)

3: The pay equity target job rate is the rate established in 1994 based on the comparison between your job classes and the proxy employer’s job classes from the pay equity plan.

4: Indicate what the job rate was for the job class in 1994. If the job class was created after 1994, report the job rate at the time the job class was created. If there is a range of job rates for the job class, report the highest rate.

5: The wage gap in 1994 is the difference between pay equity target job rate and the rate you paid in 1994. If the job class was created after 1994, report the wage gap at the time the job class was created.

6: This is the total amount of adjustments paid to the job class. This is the amount by which the wage gap is closed from 1994 (or the time the job classes was created) to present.

7: Indicate the current job rate for the job class. If there is a range of job rates for the job class, report the highest rate.

F. Information about new job classes since 1994

1. How many, if any, new female job classes were created after January 1, 1994? _____

2. a) How many male job classes, if any, did the organization have in 1994? _____

b) How many male job classes, if any, does the organization have now? _____

G. Please add any additional comments about your experience with implementing pay equity.

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Map of Ontario Regions

BackgroundAbout the “Assessing Proxy Use and Outcomes” ProjectWhat was Done Overall Response RateResponses by LocationResponses by Program AreaResponses by Union/ Non- Union StatusResponses by Number of EmployeesREPORTED LEVEL OF PAY EQUITY ACHIEVEMENTLevel of Pay Equity Achievement by Program Area

FEMALE JOB CLASSES AND WAGE GAPSAmounts of Hourly Wage GapsWage Gaps as a Proportion of Current Hourly Job RatesBy How Much Have Hourly Wage Gaps Been ClosedEstimates of Time to Achieve Pay Equity

CHANGES TO JOB RATESHow Pay Equity Adjustments are DeterminedAmounts and Percentage Increases to Job RatesJob Rates in Childcare and Services for People with DisabilitiesJob Rates of Five OccupationsComments on Pay Equity Outcomes

DISCUSSIONAPPENDIXSchedule and Appendix of the Pay Equity Act Cover Letter Questionnaire