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B.C. introduces pay transparency reporting tool
A new, online reporting tool has been created to support B.C. employers with an efficient way to prepare pay transparency reports.
Pay transparency reports are a requirement under B.C.’s Pay Transparency Act, which passed into law May 11, 2023.
The pay transparency reporting tool allows employers to upload unidentifiable data on employees’ gender and pay, which will then generate an automated report.
By Nov. 1, all B.C. employers with 1,000 or more employees are required to prepare and post reports about their gender-pay gaps.
The requirement has been introduced in stages to give employers time to prepare.
* Nov. 1, 2023: BC Public Service Agency and the six largest Crown corporations (ICBC, BC Hydro, WorkSafeBC, BC Housing, BC Lottery Corporation and BC Transit);
* Nov. 1, 2024: all employers with 1,000 employees or more;
* Nov. 1, 2025: all employers with 300 employees or more;
* Nov. 1, 2026: all employers with 50 employees or more.
In addition, as of last year, all employers in B.C. are required to include salary or wage information on all publicly posted jobs.
According to the Indeed job-posting website, this has resulted in a significant increase in wage information available. Forty-nine per cent of postings on the Canada-wide website included pay details as of February; however, job postings in B.C. featuring pay details have now increased to 76%. Government continues to work with employers to increase that further and support more employers to comply.
Drawing on data from Statistics Canada and pay transparency reports posted by employers last year, the province has published its first pay transparency annual report. The annual report provides an overview of the gender pay gap in B.C. by sector, employment type and intersectional identities, such as Indigeneity, race, ethnicity, newcomer status, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity.
In 2023, women in B.C. earned 17% less than men, based on median hourly wages. For Indigenous, racialized and newcomer women, the gap is higher.
According to Statistics Canada, for every dollar a man made in 2023:
* racialized women made median earnings of 76 cents;
* Indigenous women made median earnings of 80 cents; and
* newcomer women made median earnings of 81 cents.
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