guidance and promotion of sectors targeted
towards young women were the
best steps that could be taken to encourage
more women to pursue employment in
jobs that tend to be male-dominated.
The report recommends government
expand its training on pay equity issues
and solutions – similar to the mandatory
Supervisor Awareness Training that
the Ministry of Labour requires for the
Occupational Health and Safety Act. Sixtyeight
per cent of survey respondents felt
government should develop a similar online
module for managers that focuses on
the issues of cultural sensitivity, the gender
wage gap and pay equity to help raise
awareness of these issues.
Other ways HR professionals could
help close the wage gap include:
■■ Changing hiring practices to include
group evaluations of job applicants
(instead of just one manager making
the decision)
■■ Reviewing language used in job
postings and evaluations to ensure
gender neutrality
■■ Educating management on the gender
gap issue and techniques to avoid it
■■ Reminding managers annually about
the issue before employee evaluations
occur
■■ Creating policies and procedures to
help shrink the gap
The gender wage gap in Ontario remains
a serious issue – most recent data
from Statistics Canada estimates the gap
to be anywhere between 12 per cent to
31.5 per cent. While “equal pay for work
of equal value” is enshrined in law under
Ontario’s Pay Equity Act, clearly a gap remains.
As regulated HR professionals,
CHRPs, CHRLs and CHREs have a duty
to protect the public and work to correct
these imbalances by staying current on
pay equity techniques and approaches and
helping their organizations implement effective
solutions.
If HR professionals are empowered
to address this critical issue, they are
well suited to help bring about positive
change. ■
Brenda Clark, CHRE is chair of the
Human Resources Professionals Association
(HRPA).
tips FROM DispUtE
REsOLUtiON EXpERts
hOW TO gET ThE OThER SIDE TO mAkE ThE FIRST OFFER
Sometimes, getting the other side to make an offer in a negotiation is like pulling
teeth. They just won’t commit and you don’t know what they’re prepared to do.
Some people are afraid to make offers. They worry that their offers will either be
too generous (and they gave away too much) or too aggressive (and you’ll walk
away from the table).
One suggestion is to give them the time they need to make a decision. When
people feel pressured to make a decision they often become too risk-adverse
and conservative in their offers. So, if you pressure them, you may not like the
decision they reach. Let them know that you’re always ready to talk and follow
up regularly.
If you can’t give them the time, try reducing the pressure by suggesting that
the two of you explore what options might be workable. They may be more
comfortable putting options on the table rather than offers. If they suggest an
option that you’d be prepared to accept, you may want to indicate that to them
so that they will consider making it into an offer.
ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION WORkShOP
Contact us to speak to an instructor
1.800.318.9741 | adr.ca | contact@adr.ca
GROUP
Toronto: May 31-June 3 or June 21-24
Ottawa: October 18-21
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career in HR. A must attend for HR Professionals. I have used the tools on a
regular basis.”
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“I liked the wealth of knowledge and confidence of all of the instructors and
coaches. It’s great to have all the resources available to you at all times
throughout the training.”
- Mark McGrath, HR, Nalcor Energy, St. John’s
10 ❚ MAY/JUNE 2016 ❚ HR PROFESSIONAL