Mr. Speaker, the Employment Equity Act requires employers within the federal jurisdiction to develop and implement equity programs in an effort to achieve a fair and representative work force.
The 2003 annual report indicates that women are still under-represented in a number of fields; that they earn on average 78 cents for every dollar earned by men; that the salary gap between women and men working full-time continues to widen; that women are still limited to clerical positions; and that the representation of women in the workforce under the act dropped by 5,000 in 2002.
For years now, the federal government has been taking only superficial action, while the situation of women has been deteriorating. The Bloc Quebecois is outraged at the federal government's inaction as far as the status of women is concerned, and urges it to take action and show some equity.