An April 18, 2017, a panel discussion commemorating Equal Pay Day with Emanuela Heyninck, Ontario Pay Equity Commissioner, Jamison Steeve, Director, Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity, Victoria Budson, Executive Director, Women and Public Policy Program (WAPPP) at Harvard’s Kennedy School, moderated by Sarah Kaplan, Director of the Institute for Gender + the Economy discussed five themes cutting across policy insights from the pay equity commission and research on prosperity.
Themes:
Gender wage gap
Childcare
Parental leave (maternity and paternity)
Education/skills development
Business norms and practices.
About the speakers:
Emanuela Heyninck, Ontario Pay Equity Commissioner.
In April of 2015, Ms. Heyninck was one of four individuals appointed by the government to the Gender Wage Gap Strategy Steering Committee, which is conducting research and seeking public input into solutions to close the gender wage gap in Ontario. The Committee’s recommendations will be submitted to the Minister of Labour in the spring of 2016. Ms. Heyninck is immediate Past President of the Society of Adjudicators and Regulators and has served on several of SOAR’s committees and on the Board of Director and Executive. She is a member of several Advisory Councils, including Conestoga College and the University of Western Ontario Student Law Clinic and is a mentor at Brescia College. She holds an Hon. B.A. in Italian and French from McMaster University and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Windsor. Before her appointment to the Pay Equity Commission, she practiced civil, family and administrative law in London, Ontario for 25 years.
Jamison Steeve, Executive Director, Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity
Jamison is the Executive Director at the Martin Prosperity Institute and the Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity, two of Canada’s leading think tanks. Jamison is responsible for the day to day operation of both institutes, as well as the development of the strategic plan, communication vehicles and policy agenda. Since joining the ICP, Jamison has increased the pace and impact of the Institute’s work. The ICP has covered a wide range of topics including health care, infrastructure, scaling up businesses, and the utility of government grants in attracting businesses to Ontario.
Victoria Budson, Executive Director, Women and Public Policy Program (WAPPP) at Harvard’s Kennedy School
WAPPP is the leading institution for advancing interdisciplinary research on approaches to closing gender gaps, educating students and leaders on gender policy, and implementing policy changes at local, state, and national levels. Budson speaks regularly on topics related to closing gender gaps such as gender and public policy, electoral politics and political action. She also addresses how diversity and gender equality improve the profitability of corporations and the prosperity of families and society. In her work, she focuses on evidence-based methods that are proven to improve diversity and gender equality in the workplace.
