There is a discrepancy in Canada between the wages of men and women in the same industry, in some cases as much as 45% (Statistics Canada actually keeps records and reports on this sort of thing). One reason accounting for a (small) portion of this discrepancy is found within the realms of parenthood and maternity. Maternity is time out of the workforce, and a large component salary is dependent on work experience. As women are taking the vast majority of maternity leave, it stands to reason that they might have a few years less experience than male counterparts of similar (middle) age. Of course this still does not explain why a woman of equal experience will still receive a lower wage, and be promoted at a slower rate than her male co-workers.