Pay equity case from down under.

Although not an example from this continent, the following case study is encouraging. It should provide some motivation for BC Librarians to encourage employers, and government to close the pay gap which has plagued our profession for years!

Pay equity case study
This Office prepared a case study on pay equity which was submitted to the 1998 Pay Equity Inquiry conducted by the NSW Industrial Relations Commission. The case study compared the work value and renumeration of two gender-dominated professions, librarians and geologists, employed by two major NSW Public Service organisations, the State Library of NSW and the Department of Mineral Resources.

Results
The study demonstrated a significant pay gap. The rates of pay for librarians were less than for geologists of equivalent work value as measured by job evaluation points scores. While the pay gap was small for base grade positions, it increased to approximately $8,900 for the comparator jobs, and was even larger for higher level jobs. The difference amounted to almost 20% of the Senior Librarians' pay as compared to pay for the Senior Geologists with similar levels of qualifications, experience and responsibility.

source: Employment Equity & Diversity, Public Employment Office, Premier's Department of New South Wales

Is this the job for you?

What follows are a few excerpts from a job posting. Would you recognize this as a Librarian posting or a vacancy for a job at your local department store?

"service staff with a commitment to customer-centred service"

"This proactive approach entails taking customers directly to the items they are looking for, consistently approaching customers to offer assistance, providing informed suggestions,..., and continuously merchandising the collection through display and positioning to make it easy for customers..."

customer
A person, company, or other entity which buys goods and services produced by another person, company, or other entity.

merchandising
The promotion of merchandise sales, as by coordinating production and marketing and developing advertising, display, and sales strategies.