Program-Evaluation Criteria Applied to Pay Equity in Ontario

The Ontario experience with respect to pay equity is evaluated based on a set of program-evaluation citeria. Such criteria are informative in their own right, but they also provide a systematic way of categorizing the issues that are involved in evaluating pay equity in general, with the Ontario experience providing a useful illustration of the evaluation principles. The program-evaluation criteria are first outlined, with an application to pay equity in general and the Ontario experience in particular. Illustrations from some case studies are used to highlight some of the program-evaluation issues. The paper concludes with a discussion of lessons that can be learned from the Ontario experience.