Wage gap between men and women widens in N.B.

The wage gap between men and women in New Brunswick increased last year despite government efforts to reduce it,said a report tabled Friday in the legislature.

The gap increased "slightly" from 12 per cent in 2006 to 12.6 per cent last year, said Mary Schryer, the minister responsible for the Status of Women. She said the increase was due to employment and wage increases in the construction industry, which is traditionally male-dominated.

"I want to make it very clear that this increase, however small, is not acceptable to government, and is certainly not acceptable to the women of New Brunswick," she said in a release.

But, Schryer said, the government is making progress with its five-year Wage Gap Action Planand still intends to reach its goal of reducing the gap to 10 per cent by 2010.

The plan, launched in 2005, has introduced programs and workshops to change attitudes and topromote pay equity as well as to award scholarshipsto women and men entering non-traditional fields.

Schryer said that pay equity has been implemented in government departments and public schools, while the groundwork has been laid in hospitals and government agencies and corporations. She said pay equity programs have also been launched for home-support workers and child-care staff.

"Our government has been unanimous in support for this initiative, and we are within reach of our wage-gap goals,"she said. "Over the remaining two years of the plan, we will be intensifying our work with our stakeholders and the employer community to close the wage gap and address pay inequity."

Future plans include ensuring that women comprise at least one third of the decision-makers within the New Brunswick government. As well, theGap Action Plan includes a programto educate employers about the benefits of wage-gap-free workplaces and a process to recognize employers who start wage-gap-reduction programs.