Starbucks Vows to Close Wage Gap with “Deliberate Speed”

Starbucks hasn’t given a concrete timeline for its Canadian wage gap efforts, but they say Starbucks will be conducting a national review to ensure equal pay is being offered for equal work in its Canadian stores.

This promise comes on the heels of the coffee giant’s announcement that it reached 100% pay equity in the US and will continue to strive to close the gap in every market they operate in.

Lucy Helm of Starbucks says it could take until 2119 to close the gap in the US across the entire economy, and Canada isn’t much better.

The Canadian pay gap is .87/$ compared to the US .78, so we’re getting there. The Insights West survey conducted for Maclean’s found that 82% of respondents wanted new federal legislation that guarantees equal pay for equal work.

A lone woman stands on a corner protesting unequal pay for women in an unidentified section of Cincinnati, Ohio, ca.1970s. (Photo by Cincinnati Museum Center/Getty Images)

But when can we expect that to happen? What can we do to speed things up?

Well, call this author crazy but there’s always the WILD idea of just going ahead and paying women equally… Private business owners; you have the power!

At Drummer we value the contributions, and often singular successes, of our (60%+) female employees.

If you feel the same, call your federal representative today to tell them this issue is important to their voters!