Treating this work as volunteer-based rather than a serious paid profession.
We are the community non-profit workforce. We support people and communities everyday, but our wages and funding don’t reflect the value of our work.
That needs to change.
Food banks can help you.
We are the community non-profit sector.
We support people by delivering community programs and crucial services, and advocating for equity and social justice every day, in communities across the province.
Under the leadership of the NB Coalition for Pay Equity, the Our Work Matters project brings together community non-profit workers and employers to share experiences, learn from one another, and build a fairer sector.
Through learning circles and a province-wide survey, more than 290 workers and managers from over 50 organizations and diverse backgrounds identified a common reality: this work is consistently undervalued.
Despite the essential work we do, we receive and experience:
While we care deeply about serving our communities, we face:
Due to the lack of resources, we constantly deal with:
Most community non-profits rely on 3 main funding sources:
But government funding tends to be short-term, restrictive, and unpredictable. It rarely covers living wages, and in some cases, it doesn’t account for wages at all. Delays between funding cycles are common, and funding priorities are often shaped by political will or priorities. Donations sometimes help with this lack of stable funding, but fundraising takes time away from our organizations’ mission.
That leaves our organizations in ongoing instability and with limited resources to pay the workers who keep crucial services running.
Our sector is sustained by women and a diverse workforce.
Yet many of us are paid less simply because of who we are. Women and marginalized workers consistently earn lower wages than their counterparts.
2/3
have a post-secondary education
These challenges aren’t accidental. They are part of a cycle that undervalues our work.
Treating this work as volunteer-based rather than a serious paid profession.
Relying on low-paid, precarious jobs to deliver essential services.
Reinforcing gender stereotypes that frame care work as “women’s work.”
Providing short-term and inadequate funding to sustain crucial work.
Despite these challenges, workers remain deeply committed to supporting communities and improving lives — but caring about the work should not require sacrificing a living wage.
Systemic problems require systemic solutions. Here are some key ways to help fix this problem:
Ensure pay parity, pay equity and pay transparency.
Develop clear pay scales for all jobs.
Protect all workers through equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) policies.
Provide professional development and training, including for management.
Increase collaboration across organizations.
Advocate for fair wages and sustainable funding
One of the ways to value our work is to make sure that it is paid at its just value.
We can do that through pay equity!
Pay equity compares women-dominated jobs with men-dominated jobs of comparable value to ensure they are paid equitably.
We determine their value according to four factors:
Equal value? Equal pay!
Explore key documents and resources about pay equity and fair compensation.
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