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Toronto – April 11, 2017 – UFCW Canada joined hundreds of activists outside the Ontario Legislature to speak out against the gender wage gap, and to bring attention to Equal Pay Day – a day that marks how far into the next year a woman must work to earn the same amount made by a man in the previous year.

The Ontario rally is one of several events being held across the country this April to commemorate Equal Pay Day. Activists donned red to illustrate how the pay gap keeps women financially below men (or "in the red"). The rally was preceded by a press conference held by the Ontario-based Equal Pay Coalition, which called on the province to introduce pay transparency laws to tackle the gender wage gap.

Currently, the gender wage gap in the province is 30% for non-unionized woman workers on average; however, statistics show that the gap varies, with indigenous women earning 57% less than men, racialized and immigrant women earning 37% to 39% less, and women with disabilities earning 46% less.

"The earnings of women are affected by a variety of factors, including under-employment in part-time jobs, lack of affordable childcare, overrepresentation in low-paying and minimum wage jobs, and barriers to unionization," said UFCW Canada Local 1006A activist Glacier Effs-Samuels, who addressed the rally. "We have to do better, as a society. Eliminating the gender pay gap is about standing up for equality and fairness for all. We need to raise awareness and take action where and when we can. When our sisters prosper, so too, do our families and communities."

In advance of Equal Pay Day nationally on April 19, UFCW Canada has launched a Thunderclap campaign to amplify the message that the gender wage gap is not just an economic issue, but also a human rights issue. To add your voice to the campaign, click here .

UFCW Canada is proud to be a part of the fight against income inequality through political action and awareness campaigns such as 'Closing the Gap', which highlights the union advantage when it comes to the fight on gender wage inequality. To learn more about UFCW Canada's advocacy efforts for women, visit, www.ufcw.ca/women.