A majority of Canadians agree that there should be equal pay for equal work, regardless of gender.

March 8, 2023

Today is International Women’s Day and a focal point in the women’s rights movement. It’s a day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women around the world. Narrative Research is proud to be a WBE (Women Business Enterprise) certified business (being majority owned and operated by women), and we wanted to know how Canadians feel about gender equity, both in terms of progress to date, as well as the future work to be done.

Our national survey results show that while the majority of Canadians are in favour of supports to work towards equity across genders in sports, politics, business, and the workplace, there is still progress to be made. Most Canadians believe there should be equal pay for equal work regardless of gender (89%), and most also agree there should be equal levels of government funding for male and female sports (77%). In addition, two-thirds of Canadians each indicate agreement that society would benefit from having more women in politics, and that society would benefit from having more women in leadership positions. A similar percentage agrees that there has been progress in recent years, in terms of treating women fairly in the workplace (66%, 66%, 67%, respectively).

Across demographics, Canadians aged 18-24 are less likely to agree that there should be equal pay for equal work, regardless of gender, compared to those who are older. Moreover, those aged 25-34 are most likely to agree there has been progress in recent years, in terms of treating women fairly in the workplace, compared to other age groups. Males are less likely than females to agree there should be equal levels of government funding for male and female sports, that society would benefit from having more women in politics and leadership positions and that there should be equal pay for equal work.


Results are from an online survey conducted in partnership between Narrative Research and the Logit Group. The survey was conducted between March 2 and 6, 2023 with 1,233 Canadians, 18 years of age or older from the Logit Group’s online Canadian Omnibus. Data were weighted based on the 2016 Census, by gender, age, and region to reflect actual population distribution, and data tables are available upon request.

The questions asked were:

Please indicate to what extent you agree or disagree with the following…

  • There should be equal levels of government funding for male and female sports
  • Society would benefit from having more women in politics
  • Society would benefit from having more women in leadership positions
  • There should be equal pay for equal work, regardless of gender
  • There has been progress in recent years in (province/territory), in terms of treating women fairly in the workplace

For more information, please contact:

Margaret Chapman, COO & Partner, Narrative Research – 902.493.3834, mchapman@narrativeresearch.ca

OR

Sam Pisani, Managing Partner, Logit Group – 416.629.4116, sam.pisani@logitgroup.com

Narrative Research (www.narrativeresearch.ca), is a non-partisan, 100% Canadian-owned research company, certified as a Women Business Enterprise (WBE). Narrative Research provides clients with state-of-the-art research and strategic consulting services.

The Logit Group (https://logitgroup.com/) is a leading North American data collection and market research execution company headquartered in Toronto, conducting large-scale projects for a variety of well-known research agencies and brands. Logit employs industry-best technologies across an array of methodologies, and is independent, experienced and quality-oriented. 

Follow us on Twitter at @EveryNarrative and @LogitGroup

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