Female Teachers Encouraged to ‘Suffer in Silence’ Amid Workplace Violence, Class Action Lawsuit Alleges

Female teachers in Quebec say they’re being exploited and now they’re asking a judge to weigh in on a class action lawsuit detailing the various ways their rights are being denied. 

From a lack of pay equity to violence in the workplace, the lead plaintiffs Genevieve Broleau and Heloise Landry allege that female teachers’ charter rights are being violated.

The plaintiffs’ lawyer blames the government for the lack of accountability. “The government should be giving the example about true equity in terms of fairness in salaries and elimination of gender discrimination,” Claude Levesque said according to CTV News. “The government is not doing their job on that end.” 

Women represent over 70 per cent of the education sectors’ workforce, but are paid less than men in equivalent positions, according to the female teachers’ class action lawsuit. 

Lawsuit: Female Teachers ‘Suffer in Silence’ Inside Violent Workplaces

Female teachers are also more likely to be victimized by workplace violence than their male coworkers, according to the class action lawsuit, which points to thousands of complaints filed in Quebec over physical and psychological attacks.

“Teachers experience verbal and physical violence, intimidation and often work in an atmosphere of conflict,” the complaint asserts. “Very often, management encourages teachers not to file a complaint and suffer in silence this violence against them.” 

Some women allegedly experience attacks so traumatizing that they become afraid to return to their own classrooms. 

In addition to alleged workplace violence, female teachers say they’re exhausted and depressed claiming a lack of a healthy work life balance. 

“They experience an overload of work, an increase in the number of hours per work week and the absence of breaks,” the class action lawsuit states. 

The Quebec Ministries of Education and Labour reportedly had no comment on the class action’s allegations since it was now before the courts, CTV News reported. 

Culture of Gender Discrimination in the Workplace

Levesque says there’s nothing new about Canada’s culture of gender discrimination, but what is new is this class action lawsuit seeking to change things. 

“What’s new about it is we’re doing something about it,” the attorney reportedly told CTV News.

However, this isn’t the first legal action to take on workplace gender discrimination. In 2020, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) agreed to pay $100 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging decades of gender-based abuse and discrimination by its police force.

One woman who worked for the RCMP claims that when she reported sexual abuse she was told to be a “team player” or quit. Lawyers estimated that about four thousand female RCMP workers would be able to claim compensation up to $220,000. 

Despite reportedly surpassing men with university degrees decades ago, women still hit glass ceilings and endure discrimination in some of the country’s top institutions, according to Globe and Mail. 

“Women are outnumbered, outranked and outearned by almost every measure – at the top, on the way to the top, in the middle, in management, and among six-figure earners in general,” Globe and Mail reports adding that the few women who do get through the glass ceiling are mostly white. 

As for the female teachers’ class action lawsuit, a judge will make the final say of whether it can move forward.

What do you think about the female teachers’ allegations of gender discrimination? Have you ever experienced violence in the workplace? Tell us your thoughts in the comment section below! 

The female teachers are represented by Claude Levesque of Levesque Jurisconsulte Inc.

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