Thank you very much.
Good afternoon, everyone.
I will speak quite briefly about Dalhousie's experience with pay equity. Of course, if you have specific questions, I'm happy to answer.
In 2015, Dalhousie released the “Belong” report. The report focused on how to build an inclusive university and offered a number of recommendations, including undertaking an institutional pay equity analysis.
In 2017, in advance of a new round of collective bargaining, the university began this pay equity work. The analysis focused on faculty salaries and was done in partnership with our faculty union, the Dalhousie Faculty Association. Thought was given as to how the analysis could be conducted, recognizing that salary is dictated by position but also by experience and expertise. Ultimately, the comparison was done using faculty members' ranks, y-value and full-time salary rate.
The y-value is a Dal-specific measure, enshrined in our collective agreement with the Dalhousie Faculty Association. For members of our teaching and research staff, a y-value is calculated to reflect the number of years of creditable service; other relevant experience, including traditional ways of knowing and non-traditional scholarship; and level of education. A faculty member's y-value dictates their minimum salary, and our y-value system helps to ensure that faculty members with comparable experience and education are paid comparable annual salaries.
The population included all current faculty. Faculty with post-retirement appointments, former deans, and faculty with salaries at or above maximum salary rates were removed from the population, as these salaries would skew the dataset. Pay equity variables were drawn from our self-identification records and included gender identification and expression, indigenous, racially visible, persons with a disability, and sexual orientation. Linear regression analysis was run on the data for each rank, with salary rate as the dependent variable, and y-value and gender and/or designated group status as independent variables.
We found statistically significant differences occurring in the regression comparing male and female faculty salary rates by y-value at the rank of full professor. Among our most senior faculty members, there were pay gaps for female professors. As a result, pay equity salary adjustments were calculated and awarded to 81 female full professors. Individual one-time adjustments ranged from approximately $1,500 to $12,000.
In September 2020, a second pay equity analysis was conducted on faculty to determine whether the salary adjustments provided had successfully resulted in closing the gaps between our male and female researchers. Our analysis revealed almost no difference between the regression lines for each rank, and we therefore concluded that the pay equity adjustments awarded in 2017 had the desired effect of closing the gaps. The analysis was repeated again in 2022, in advance of the bargaining on our latest collective agreement, and found no statistically significant gaps.
Dalhousie has a defined benefit pension plan based on the best three years of a faculty member's earnings. This structure helps to mitigate impact on retirement savings. If pay equity gaps are identified and remedied three years prior to retirement, the impact on pensions at Dal will be minimal.
That being said, our pay equity adjustments were made on a go-forward basis, and we can't discount the impact that this gap had on faculty members' lifetime earnings. Equity pay gaps at institutions with defined contribution pension plans and retirement savings plans will lead to a more significant impact on faculty retirement pay.
Moving forward, we have adopted the practice of conducting a faculty pay equity analysis in advance of bargaining on new collective agreements. This gives us and our union partners an opportunity to assess whether there are pay gaps that need to be addressed. Our y-value system was critical in the execution of this exercise. To that end, we have also revised our y-value system to ensure that it captures the diversity of experience and knowledge.
It's also important to note that this exercise was done in the Nova Scotia post-secondary context. Different provinces or sectors with different funding schemes or legislation would potentially have more nuanced challenges to overcome.
Thank you.