Historic gender pay gaps among the ranks of the University of Windsor’s most senior academics and librarians are being addressed, following the work of a task force formed in November 2020 to examine the issue and make recommendations for redress.

The task force, a collaboration between the Windsor University Faculty Association (WUFA) and university administration, was formed by UWindsor president Rob Gordon following Senate discussions regarding employment equity.

In a report produced with the assistance of the Office of Institutional Analysis, the task force found that a gender pay gap was revealed for senior librarians and full professors. No such gap was observed in associate and assistant professorships and lower-ranked librarians.

Among other findings, the report notes that 41 of the 100 longest-serving faculty members are women, although only 19 women are among the top 100 earners.

In addition, the report states that female employees at the highest teaching and librarian ranks are paid less than their male counterparts at a rate that, on average, exceeds $1,000 per month. This gender pay gap was found to increase with time since tenure.

To address this inequity, an algorithm has been developed for the purpose of compensating female academics and librarians commensurate with years since tenure.

This algorithm, when applied across the compensation of all top-ranked female academics as of 2020, results in a reduction of the average gender pay gap from $13,528 to $92.

Dr. Gordon thanked the task force for its work to address the gender pay gaps.

“We are hopeful that this acknowledgement and our efforts to right this historic wrong will demonstrate to women who hold senior academic positions that the University of Windsor values their contributions and is committed to equitable practices going forward,” he said.

WUFA president Anna Lanoszka said she was pleased to see the endeavour brought to fruition.

“This task force was first envisioned by former VP-Internal of WUFA, Dr. Lori Buchanan, who was instrumental in advocating for its establishment,” Dr. Lanoszka said. “I would like to thank the committed group of people who worked together to examine the ongoing gender pay gap among our University faculty and librarians. The recommendations made by the task force will be implemented, and the process will continue until this gap is eliminated.”

The Office of Institutional Analysis will conduct monitoring scans every two years to ensure gender pay parity continues.