Pay inequality persists for women, minorities in federal public service: report
OTTAWA – While the federal government has made gains on diversity and equity in the public service, inequities persist when it comes to pay, a new Treasury Board report says.
Compared with the entire core public service, employees who fall into 'equity groups' — women, Indigenous Peoples, visible minorities and people with disabilities — are more likely to fall into the lower income groups and less likely to be among employees making over $100,000 a year.
The Employment Equity in the Public Service of Canada report for 2023-24 divides employees into six income groups, starting at those who make less than $50,000 a year and topping out with those who make $150,000 or more a year.
The data shows that about one-third of all employees made less than $75,000, including 1.7 per cent who made less than $50,000. But 39 per cent of women — who account for 57 per cent of all employees — made less than $75,000.
Almost 35 per cent of Indigenous employees made less than $75,000, as did almost 35 per cent of employees with disabilities and 37 per cent of visible minorities. The report said 46 per cent of Black employees made less than $75,000.
With the exception of employees with disabilities, members of identified equity groups were also under-represented at the highest pay levels.
The data shows that almost 13 per cent of all public servants made more than $125,000, including 3.6 per cent who made more than $150,000.
That compares with 11 per cent of female employees making more than $125,000, 10 per cent of Indigenous employees, 11 per cent of visible minorities, and eight per cent of Black employees.
The data shows 14 per cent of employees with disabilities made more than $125,000.
The report says employees in equity groups have seen some improvement in pay.
Nicholas Marcus Thompson, president and CEO of the Black Class Action Secretariat, said that while the numbers are going up, 'the story hasn't changed.'
'Racialized workers, including highly qualified Black employees, remain stuck in the lowest-paid roles, while decision-making positions stay out of reach,' he said. 'This isn't a pipeline problem. It's a systemic failure that demands legislative action.'
Thompson said the government promised to modernize the Employment Equity Act in December 2023 but no real change has happened in the years since.
'Until the government acts, the status quo will hold and racialized workers will continue to be shut out of positions of power,' Thompson said. 'Change isn't real until it reaches the paycheque.'
The report shows that the number of federal government employees across all groups has increased since 2022-23.
The number of people in employment equity groups holding executive positions has also increased overall, though their representation is still lower in the higher executive levels.
The Canadian Press has reached out to the Treasury Board for comment on the data but has not yet received a response.
Nathan Prier, president of the Canadian Association of Professional Employees, said the salary data is 'disappointing but not surprising.'
Prier said the public 'heard very clearly' from Justice Jocelyne Gagné, who earlier this year denied certification for a class-action lawsuit filed by Black public servants alleging discrimination in the public service — but also acknowledged the existence of widespread systematic discrimination in many areas of the federal bureaucracy.
Black federal workers who launched the $2.5-billion claim against the federal government are appealing the court's decision.
'This underlines how much we need to expand anti-discrimination measures in the federal workplace,' said Prier. 'We're still wasting talent by allowing artificial barriers rooted in discrimination to persist.'
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 18, 2025.
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