Gender equality in the workplace in Quebec: strategic priority for employers or partial response to institutional pressures?

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-02-2019-0079
• Published date: 01 December 2020
• Date: 01 December 2020
• Pages: 959-975
• Subject Matter: HR & organizational behaviour,Employment law,Diversity,equality,inclusion
• Author: Émilie Genin,Mélanie Laroche,Guénolé Marchadour

Gender equality in the workplace in

Quebec: strategic priority for

employers or partial response to

institutional pressures?



Emilie Genin, M

elanie Laroche and Gu

enol

e Marchadour

School of Industrial Relation, Universit

e de Montr

eal, Montreal, Canada

Abstract

Purpose –This paper examines the challenges posed for employers by gender equality in the workplace, in a

seemingly favourable institutional context (the province of Quebec, Canada), and the reasons why employers

adopt (or not) gender equality measures (GEMs) exceeding legal requirements.

Design/methodology/approach –The approach draws on both institutional theory and the strategic

human resource management (SHRM) approach. Our research is based on a quantitative study involving

human resource management professionals in Quebec (n5296).

Findings –The results allow us to link GEMs with certain SHRM orientations (Yang and Konrad, 2011) and

institutional pressures (Lawrence et al., 2009). The findings show that, for approximately two-thirds of the

employers in the sample, gender equality was not a strategic priority. Consistent with our hypothesis, a greater

number of GEMs were found when gender equality was a strategic priority for the employer. Unionizationand

legal requirements were also positively correlated with the presence of GEMs.

Originality/value –The findings indicate a combined effect of SHRM and institutions on GEMs. They point

out the relative dependency of employers on the pressures stemming from the institutional framework, and it

captures some of the current challenges involved in adopting a SHRM approach with a view to achieving

gender equality.

Keywords Gender equality, Employers, Institutions, Strategic human resource management

Paper type Research paper

1. Introduction

Gender equality in the workplace is defined as equal rights, opportunities and treatment for

both men and women, particularly in terms of employment opportunities and conditions,

training and development, mobility, promotions and overall compensation (Laufer, 2014;

Secr

etariat 

a la condition f

eminine, 2015). The principle of gender equality is largely accepted

in almost all Western democracies. However, women still do not enjoy the same conditions in

the labour market as men (Maruani, 2013;OECD, 2017). This is true with regard to the

positions they hold, their career trajectories and their salaries. Despite the efforts made in

terms of public policies, organizational practices or union actions, it is clear that progress

towards achieving the goal of gender equality in the workplace has been slow and difficult

(Chicha and Charest, 2013;Laufer, 2014;OECD, 2017). In Canada, the promise to bridge the

gender pay gap through the massive entry of women into colleges and universities has not

borne out, even in favourable political contexts (Guppy and Luongo, 2015). It is thus urgent to

explore the reasons why progress towards gender equality in the workplace has been so slow

and what actions employers are taking (or not) in this regard.

The persistence of gender inequality in the workplace has been associated with

institutional and social factors such as gender stereotypes (Gaborit, 2009;Naschberger et al.,

2012), the gendered division of labour and the tendency of the institutions regulating work

Gender

equality in the

workplace

959

This research was made possible through support provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities

Research Council (SSHRC - Grant No: 435-2018-0604).

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

https://www.emerald.com/insight/2040-7149.htm

Received 15 February 2019

Revised 14 November 2019

26 June 2020

Accepted 6 November 2020

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

An International Journal

Vol. 41 No. 7, 2022

pp. 959-975

© Emerald Publishing Limited

2040-7149

DOI 10.1108/EDI-02-2019-0079

and employment to produce structures, practices and rules that are seemingly neutral, but

can result in making women’s issues invisible or less strategic (Rubery and Hebson, 2018;

Wajcman, 2000). Amongst the organizational factors raised are the fact that employers

anticipate extra costs related to pregnancy and maternity leave, gender bias in the

recruitment and selection process, a culture of long working hours, “old boy’s clubs”and the

limited access of women to networking and mentoring (Baker and French, 2018;Durbin and

Fleetwood, 2010). In similar political and economic contexts, organizations vary with regard

to the degree to which gender inequality is severe (Acker, 2009). Employers thus have an

important role to play in achieving gender equality in the workplace (Vosko et al., 2009). They

can either put in place proactive measures to promote equality or hold back progress.

In this special issue on progress and setbacks in, and new challenges for equality,

diversity and inclusion (EDI), the study described in this article aimed to examine the

advances made and lulls in progress noted with regard to achieving gender equality in the

workplace in Quebec, a Canadian province that is poorly documented in the scientific

literature. Quebec is often described as an exception in North America, due to the presence of

progressive public policies and promising institutions developed by the industrial relations

actors (the state, employers and unions). At first glance, the situation in Quebec should be

favourable to gender equality and the fair participation of women in the labour market. That

said, some employers are clearly more proactive than others with regard to gender equality

(Chicha and Charest, 2009).

Using a theoretical framework integrating both the impact of institutions and the strategic

role of employers (Yang and Konrad, 2011), this study sought to map the gender equality

measures (GEMs) implemented by employers in Quebec. More specifically, it addressed the

following research questions: Why do employers implement gender equality measures and

why do some employers exceed the legal requirements while others are clearly less proactive?

Previous research has identified various antecedents of diversity and equality practices,

namely, government regulation, organizational size and strategic orientation (Konrad and

Linnehan, 1995;Konrad et al., 2016). Yang and Konrad (2011) proposed a theoretical

framework integrating two theoretical perspectives –institutional theory and the strategic

human resource management (SHRM) approach –to analyse the antecedents of equality and

diversity management practices. Based on this framework, we hypothesized that

institutional pressures and SHRM explain why employers put GEMs in place. These

hypotheses were tested using a database collected amongst human resource management

professionals (n5296).

The results highlight the advances made by some organizations but also indicate that the

majority of employers are lagging behind. The province of Quebec is an interesting case for

EDI since its public policies are often mentioned as “proactive”in terms of gender equality

(Mazur et al., 2018). However, our study results tell a different story when it comes to the

concrete implementation of these polices in workplaces. We will thus identify new challenges

for EDI –in particular the huge disparities between employers –in an institutional context

that is seemingly favourable to gender equality. To conclude, we will discuss the implications

of these results and give a possible explanation for the limited progress observed.

2. Context and theoretical background

2.1 The Quebec context

In Quebec, women now make up nearly half of the total workforce, i.e. 48% (Secr

etariat 

ala

condition f

eminine, 2015). Some encouraging trends can be seen. For example, the average

level of education amongst women is now higher than that for men (Secr

etariat 

a la condition

f

eminine, 2015) and the proportion of women in management positions rose from 25% in 1987

to 36% in 2012 (Boulet, 2013). Furthermore, the unionization rate for women (39%) in 2017

EDI

41,7

960