Canadian firms have work to do on reducing gender pay gap, says U.K. report
MONTREAL — Some of Canada’s largest banks, engineering firms, retailers and other companies pay their female British employees substantially less than their male counterparts and give out lower bonuses, according to gender pay disclosures filed in the United Kingdom.
The Royal Bank of Canada, Scotiabank and Toronto-Dominion said the mean hourly rate for their U.K.-based female workers was between 35 and 44 per cent lower than men’s rate. On average, women’s bonuses were between 64 and 72 per cent lower than their male counterparts.
Speaking at Royal Bank’s annual general meeting Friday, days after the submission deadline in the U.K., chief executive Dave McKay told reporters that the discrepancy is largely due to the challenge of getting more women in senior roles and positions in capital markets, wealth management and brokers where compensation is greatest.
“We have to do more, and we have to change those roles, to make them more attractive, to bring the diversity, because I think we will perform better over time.”