The Evolution of Canadian Pay Equity Legislation and the Social Organization of Public Opinion.

The United Nations adopted an "equal pay for work of equal value" convention in 1951, well over 25 years prior to such a provision being legislated in Canada. Legal action in Ontario and Quebec especially led to significant change. In this article we trace the largely unrecognized role that the judicial system played in Canada's move away from "equal pay for equal work" to the UN standard of "equal pay for work of equal value." We then explore how the social organization of public opinion has aligned with these changes, as Canada now swings away from the UN focus on "work of equal value" to a new wave of pay equity laws favoring proactive pay transparency. Using public opinion data, we pay particular attention to the factional polarization of the policy process that may, we speculate, be a growing impediment to legislative reforms, and not just pay equity reforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]