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Pay Equity

The Pay Equity Program At McGill

McGill has one pay equity program that includes all eligible job classes across the University from Secretary to Cook to IT Analyst to Professor. Pay equity is assessed within McGill only and it compares predominantly female job classes to predominantly male job classes across the University.

The University is currently working on the 2020 Pay Equity Audit. While this may appear late, the timing reflects the CNESST’s decision to grant the University an extension in November 2020, requiring that the 2020 pay equity maintenance be completed within 120 days of final decisions on the 2010 and 2015 pay equity maintenances. As these decisions were only recently received, and some matters remain unresolved, the University is now proceeding with the 2020 maintenance in accordance with CNESST requirements.

Consult the 2020 Pay Equity Maintenance section below for more information.

2025 Pay Equity Maintenance

See pay equity update to all staff here (Originally posted on December 23, 2025, revised on February 16, 2026).

2020 Pay Equity Maintenance

For the 2020 pay equity maintenance, the University received complaints for not completing the exercise within a specific deadline. It is important to note the following developments regarding this file: 

  • In November 2020, the University was granted an extension by the CNESST, in accordance with article 101.1 of the Pay Equity Act, to complete the 2020 pay equity maintenance. In its decision, the CNESST required that the 2020 pay equity maintenance be completed and posted. This had to be done no later than 120 days after a settlement or decision by the CNESST regarding complaints related to the 2010 and 2015 pay equity maintenances.  This decision was reasonable since the University considered it could not move forward with the 2020 pay equity maintenance until the process for 2010 and 2015 was finalized. 

  • Following this decision, several developments occurred.  : 

    •  The CNESST rendered a decision regarding the 2010 maintenance, but the decision was contested by various parties.   

    • A hearing was initiated at the TAT in 2024 and is still ongoing.   

    • In January 2026, the CNESST rendered a decision regarding the 2015 maintenance however, this decision was contested by a Union.  

As a result, the final TAT decisions pertaining to the 2010 and 2015 maintenances are still pending, rendering it particularly difficult for the University to complete the subsequent maintenances. 

  • For these reasons, on September 22, 2025, the University requested another postponement to complete the 2020 and 2025 maintenances, in accordance with section 101.1 of the Pay Equity Act. 

  • On December 12, 2025, the University was informed that the CNESST had rejected its request for postponement for the 2020 and 2025 maintenances. This decision was surprising since the CNESST had already approved the University’s request when a postponement was requested for similar reasons.  It therefore placed the University in a challenging position by requiring the completion of the 2020 and 2025 maintenance exercises by May 21, 2026 without the benefit of final decisions on the 2010 and 2015 maintenances, which remain unresolved.  

  • The University nonetheless acknowledged this decision and proceeded diligently with the participation process for the 2020 pay equity audit which ended on May 11, 2026. As per the law, the University must respect a delay of at least 60 days between the end of the participation process and the first posting, which made meeting the May 21, 2026 deadline impossible.  

  • On June 30, 2026, the University received a notice of decision (“préavis de décision”) from the CNESST indicating that they were leaning towards a decision by which they would find the complaints filed to contest the non-completion of the 2020 pay equity maintenance were founded because the 2020 pay equity maintenance had not been completed by May 21, 2026. 

  • The University has until July 24, 2026 to submit additional facts, supporting documentation, or representations before the CNESST issues its final decision regarding the complaints. 

Since December 2025, the Pay Equity team has worked diligently and has completed the activities outlined below.

  • Establishing a working group composed of Human Resources and Academic Personnel Office professionals from different faculties and units and meeting weekly. 

  • Gathering and validating the data required for the 2020 pay equity maintenance, including managing the complexity of consolidating information from two different HR systems

  • Developing and implementing the pay equity participation process from the ground up, including designing the participation approach, identifying and engaging stakeholders, developing communication materials, and establishing the end-to-end process.

  • Managing all aspects of the participation process from March 27, 2026 to May 11, 2026, including coordinating communications, responding to employee inquiries, tracking participation, and ensuring consistent application of the process. 

  • Consulting with some union representatives by responding to questions, providing information through written communications and discussions, and addressing questions or comments throughout the consultation period.  

  • Onboarding a new Pay Equity Advisor, who joined the team on May 19, 2026 as the workload was no-longer feasible for one full-time employee.  

  • Finalizing the 2010 pay equity maintenance file currently before the TAT. 

  • Analyzing the CNESST's decision regarding the 2015 pay equity maintenance received on January 26, 2026 and collaborating with the CNESST to confirm implementation of their orientations.  

It is important to note that work related to the 2010 and 2015 pay equity maintenance exercises had to be completed within prescribed timelines and was therefore prioritized. In addition, the final outcomes of the 2010 and 2015 maintenance exercises may affect the 2020 pay equity maintenance, making the completion of those files a prerequisite to finalizing the 2020 maintenance. 

Process for the Pay Equity Audit of December 21, 2020

This communication is made pursuant to the application of the Quebec Pay Equity Act

What is Pay Equity?

Pay equity is equal pay for work of equal value. Workers who perform different but equivalent work in predominantly female job classes should have access to an equal opportunity of pay to those who hold positions in predominantly male job classes within the same organization.

To determine whether wage gaps exist, an employer must evaluate job classes with a method that recognizes so‑called female traits that are often overlooked in wage determination and that allows for the elimination of gender‑based systemic discrimination.

For further information on the Pay Equity Act, please watch the video Pay Equity - Recognizing the Fair Value of Women's Work (1min 47s) , published by the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST).

Purpose of the Pay Equity Act

The purpose of Quebec’s Pay Equity Act is to correct differences in compensation due to the systemic gender discrimination towards persons who occupy positions in predominantly female job classes within an organization.

Employer obligations

The employer must periodically conduct a pay equity audit, to verify whether events that have occurred in the organization since its last pay equity audit have created or recreated wage gaps between female predominant job classes and male predominant job classes. If this is the case, the employer must correct these wage gaps. These pay equity audits must take place every five years.

The participation process is intended to be a consultative process that allows employees affected by the audit to ask questions, present observations or to share information on events that may have occurred between December 21, 2015 (last pay equity audit) and December 21, 2020 (current audit) regarding job classes covered by this pay equity program.

This communication aims to provide information on the ongoing pay equity audit work.

Pay equity audit process

Under the Pay Equity Act, the University was required to conduct a pay equity audit as of December 21, 2020.

Due to delays related to the processing of complaints regarding previous maintenance exercises, the University has been carrying out this process this year.

The following table shows the main steps of the pay equity audit process.

Step 1

Identification of job classes and determination of their gender predominance

Step 2

Selection of the job evaluation method and review of job class evaluations

Step 3

Identification of events that occurred during the pay equity audit period concerning the job classes covered by this pay equity plan

Step 4

Estimation of wage gaps at the identified events and, if applicable, calculation of salary adjustments

Step 5

Posting of pay equity audit results (60 days after the end of the participation process)

Step 1 - Identification of job classes and their gender predominance

The identification of job classes is based on the University’s structure of job profiles.

Gender predominance of job classes was determined in accordance with the criteria set out in the Act. To do so, the University used the following criteria set out in the Act:

  • The existence of a gender-based occupational stereotype
  • The proportion of female and male incumbents within the University for each job class
  • The predominance established during the initial exercise and in previous pay equity audit (historical incumbency)

Step 2 - Job evaluation method

The University has decided to use the same job evaluation method as the one used during the initial exercise and at the previous pay equity audit, namely, the HAY method.

This job evaluation method was selected for its neutral, analytical, and systematic approach. It takes into account the four main factors set out in the Act, namely the required qualifications, responsibilities, efforts required, and conditions under which the work is performed.

Step 3 – Identification of events that occurred during the pay equity audit period

The following events occurred during the period covered by this audit:

  • Salary policies
  • Renewal of collective agreements including M1 unionization to MUNACA and de-unionization of HR positions
  • Changes to compensation structures
  • New, revised or inactive job classes
  • Re-evaluation of job classes

Step 4 - Method for estimating wage gaps

The University is currently reviewing the different methods provided for in the legislation and will confirm the selected method in the posting of results (overall or individual method as per the Pay Equity Act). 

 

Participation to the pay equity audit

The participation process took place from March 27, 2026 to May 11, 2026. During this period, we received submissions from 21 individuals and two unions (AMURE & AMUSE). Of the 21 individuals who completed the MS forms, 16 were not represented by a union and submitted their questions through the form. In addition, five others submitted questions by replying to the participation email.

Resources related to the participation process: 

Next steps

The participation process has been completed. The Act stipulates that the participation process must be completed at least 60 days before the posting of the results of the pay equity audit. At the end of this period, the employer will post the results of this audit for a period of 60 days. This posting will include a summary of the questions or information submitted to the employer during the participation process, as well as the method and results of the wage gap estimation. 
 

The Pay Equity team is currently completing work for the 2020 Pay Equity audit.

Tools and Resources

2015 Pay Equity Maintenance

Second Posting

Pay equity message and posting (Posted March 24, 2017)

First Posting

Pay equity message and posting (Posted December 21, 2016)

2010 Pay Equity Maintenance

Second Posting

First Posting

Communications & Other Documents

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