Nova Scotia still failing women on pay equity: NSNDP

HALIFAX – Today, NSNDP Leader Claudia Chender made the following statement on the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ new report on the gender pay gap:

“Today in Nova Scotia, women are earning 15 per cent less than men – on average, almost two-hundred dollars less each week. With costs already high for families, this makes it much harder, and gives women fewer choices. It can also be a barrier to escaping abusive relationships and gender-based violence. It’s worse for racialized women, who on average make only $62 for every $100 a white man makes.

It’s 2026, and women are still fighting for fair pay and opportunities. This government has failed to address the issues required for pay equity. The promise of accessible, available and affordable child care has not been met, we don’t have a women’s health strategy to reduce wait times and get women the care they need, and women-dominated sectors – like long-term care workers – continue to be undervalued and underpaid.

Women in unionized workplaces see the pay gap reduced by half, compared to those in non-unionized workplaces. But while unions are doing their part, the Houston government has to act.

Closing the gender pay gap requires more than just talk – it means investing in affordable child care, strengthening pay equity laws, and ensuring women have the health care supports they need to succeed at work, at home, and in their communities.”

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