Select Toronto cafes will now be allowing women to pay less for certain items from this Equal Pay Day forward.
Equal Pay Day is on April 4 in Ontario this year because on average women need to work three and a half more months into the year before they will earn what a man does in 12 months.
Cafes in Toronto are highlighting this issue by offering discounts on particular products to people who identify as women every Tuesday this April.
Five participating businesses with 11 locations across the city have been revealed to be participating so far, and more will be revealed throughout April.
The average gender pay gap is also currently at 11 cents on the dollar, meaning women make 89 cents for every dollar men make. The gender pay gap is also even worse for women facing multiple barriers, such as racialized women, Indigenous women and women with disabilities.
The lower prices at the cafes are intended to represent closing this equity gap.
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Organic Bytes will kick things off by offering its “Calming Water” cake, which still starts at $89 for men but will be available for $72.21 for women on April 4.
Butter and Spice, Greenhouse and Maman will also start off by offering deals starting April 4 and will continue to offer the same deals every Tuesday in April.
At Butter and Spice, a six-pack of brownies will be $22.50 for women and $25 for men. All seven Greenhouse locations will be offering all smoothies and smoothie bowls at 11% off for women, and Maman’s cookies will be $4 for women as opposed to $4.50 for men.
On April 25, legendary bakery Bobbette and Belle will be offering all baked goods, drinks and retail items for 11% off for women.
“Our business is women-founded, so the work of closing the gap towards equity for women hits close to home,” Organic Bytes co-founder Yasaman Haj-Shafiei tells blogTO. “We believe young women of all socio-economic backgrounds should feel supported in their journey into the work world, to be on equal footing with men.”
The initiative is by Girls E-Mentorship (GEM) and they’re calling the campaign #GEMGirls4Equity. They also work to advance young women through mentorship programs offered to hundreds of high school girls in the GTA.
“Our #GEMGirls4Equity campaign is about engaging the public in a way that easily conveys that we’re still not there as far as equity,” said Rochelle de Goais Jackman, founder and chair of the board for GEM.
“We sincerely thank these businesses for helping elevate awareness for the work we do,” said GEM executive director Wendy Sung-Aad.
A lack of pay equity is hitting especially hard now during these tough economic times, and while it would ultimately be much more helpful to close the gender pay gap, at least you can get out there and take advantage of these deals highlighting this issue during April.