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Patricia Arquette's Oscar speech puts spotlight back on gender wage gap

Patricia Arquette speaks after winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in "Boyhood" at the 87th Academy Awards in Hollywood, California February 22, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Blake (UNITED STATES TAGS:ENTERTAINMENT) (OSCARS-SHOW) (REUTERS)

Patricia Arquette’s

call for wage equality

is expected to rekindle the debate about what women are being paid in the workforce not just in the U.S., but across Canada.

Workplace experts say companies thataren’t already working on closing the wage gap between men and women need to act soon, or face losing workers to more progressive organizations.

“It’s an issue companies are going to have to start paying closer attention to,” says Sheryl Boswell, director of marketing at job-search website Monster.ca.

In her acceptance speech after winning best supporting actress for her role in Boyhood on Sunday night, Patricia Arquette said women have spent years fighting for everybody else’s equal rights.

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“It’s our time to have wage equality once for all. And equal rights for women in the United States of America,” she said, prompting fellow nominee Meryl Streep to jump out of her seat and shout “Yes! Yes!” – a reaction that quickly went viral on social media.

While few people may feel sorry for Hollywood actors given the big money most earn, there are reports of women in the industry being paid less than male counterparts.

Boswell thinks the message was well-articulated by Arquette, whose character in the Richard Linklater film was relatable to many average North American working women.

“I do feel it was tasteful. Given the context of the movie it was relevant,” says Boswell.

Given the Hollywood star power behind the message, she believes more women will feel empowered to look at their own wages compared with men, to ensure they are receiving equal pay for equal work.

The World Economic Forum’s latest Global Gender Gap Index report places Canada 20th among 136 countries studied when it comes to the ability to close the gender gap in four key areas: economic participation and opportunity, political empowerment, health and survival, educational attainment, political participation and economic equality.

Canada ranks behind countries such as Sri Lanka, Lesotho and Latvia, Boswell says, calling the ranking “eye opening.”

According to Statistics Canada latest data, women working full time earned about 83 per cent of what men did in 2011. When both part-time and full-time workers are included, that number drops to about 76 per cent, based on average weekly wages.

While there is some progress being made in some industries, Boswell recommends women in the workforce do some homework to see if they should be asking for a raise.

“You don’t need to be accusatory, but you can definitely be acquisitive,” she says.

Boswell recommends women look for salary guides in their industry or consult a labour lawyer to find out more about pay scales.

“The more you know about how much you should be paid, compared to what the men make for similar work at your employer, the better you can support your case,” she says.

Depending on how severe the pay gap is where you work, and how the company responds, Boswell says some women may wish to take their case Federal Human Rights Commission, or a provincial Pay Equity Commission or Human Rights Commission.