Employer Details

Employer:	Pacific Blue Cross
Address:	4250 Canada Way, Burnaby BC V5G 4W6
Time Period:	January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024
NAICS Code:	52 – Finance and Insurance
Number of Employees:	801

About Pacific Blue Cross’ Workforce

As British Columbia’s (BC) largest and only not-for-profit health benefits society, Pacific Blue Cross (PBC) remains committed to providing health benefits that deliver on our mission – to improve health and wellbeing for British Columbians. Together with our Board of Directors and CUPE 1816, the Union representing roughly three-quarters of our workforce, PBC provides comprehensive health, dental, life, disability, and travel coverage to 1 in 3 British Columbians through group and individual plans. Beyond health benefits, PBC actively supports charitable organizations across the province that are working to improve health outcomes and build healthier communities.

In this reporting period, our workforce consisted of 801 employees and spans a wide range of disciplines. Women represent 66% of our workforce (526 employees), while men make up the remaining 34% (275 employees), and together they are essential to our continued success. All employees receive equitable pay for equal work, regardless of gender. However, women are overrepresented in the customer experience and claims departments but underrepresented in the in higher paid technical jobs such as information technology resulting in an overall average pay difference between men and women.

Women – including our President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) – held 56% of all leadership roles, while men accounted for 44% of management positions.

Commitment to Pay Equity

All union employees receive equal pay for comparable work. Each bargaining unit job is evaluated and assigned a job grade, with compensation determined by the wage rates outlined in the Collective Agreement.

Compensation for management and exempt employees is governed by policies and procedures designed to ensure objective, fair, and equitable pay for comparable work considering knowledge, skills, abilities and working conditions, regardless of protected characteristics such as sex, race, ethnicity, or gender. These policies also guide our hiring, retention, and promotion processes, reinforcing our commitment to selecting the most qualified candidates for each position.

Commitment to Diversity Equity & Inclusion Initiatives

At PBC, we are deeply committed to embedding diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) into everything we do. This commitment is reflected in our partnerships and in our ongoing efforts to foster an inclusive environment where both our members and employees feel valued, respected, and empowered to be their authentic selves. In 2024, some of our highlights that showed we made meaningful strides in advancing DEIA include:

• Receiving Insurance Business Canada’s (IBC) 5-Star Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award.
• Receiving RHF Accessibility Certification through the Risk Hansen Foundation. Achieved the certification score, earning the 2024 BOMA Canada Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Challenge Award.
• Being certified as an Indigenous Works Employer of Choice.
• Partnering with Pride at Work Canada, and the Canadian Centre for Diversity & Inclusion (CCDI).
• Our President and CEO, Sarah Hoffman, received the YWCA Women of Distinction award.
• Introducing two new topics to our existing suite of free eLearning modules, accessible to workplaces and individuals looking to expand their DEIA knowledge: Gender Awareness and Menopause Matters.

PBC encourages employees to self-identify their gender and is committed to upholding privacy and anonymity, in accordance with the Pay Transparency Act and applicable reporting guidelines. Due to data thresholds designed to protect individual privacy, information regarding our non-binary employees has not been included in the current report. We remain committed to reporting on our non-binary employee population once sufficient data is available.

Percentage of Each Gender in Each Pay Quartile

The overall gender distribution for this reporting period reflects 66% women and 34% men across our employee population. Consequently, each of the below hourly pay quartiles is weighted toward women. This is largely due to the higher representation of women within customer experience and claims departments, which are associated with lower pay bands, while women remain underrepresented in higher-paid technical roles such as information technology. This distribution contributes to an overall average pay differential between men and women. PBC is actively working to enhance the recruitment and advancement of women in higher paid positions, particularly within information technology and other technical fields.

Gender Distribution in Leadership Roles

In this reporting period, women – including our President and CEO – held 56% of all leadership roles, while men accounted for 44% of management positions. PBC offers an internal 12-month program designed for emerging leaders. Selection for the program is done through applications, and we ensure equitable representation with currently 58% of our graduates identifying as women.

Hourly Pay

PBC has implemented transparent pay structures to advance pay equity throughout the organization. All exempt and management roles are assigned a job grade, each with clearly defined pay ranges, ensuring that employees performing similar work receive equitable compensation regardless of gender, race, or other protected characteristics. Likewise, all union roles are classified by job grade, with wage scales negotiated and outlined in the Collective Agreement, guaranteeing equal pay for comparable work irrespective of gender, race, or other protected attributes.

PBC conducts periodic job evaluations and pay scale reviews to maintain internal equity and external competitiveness.  

Bonus Pay

Bonus pay is one component of PBC’s total rewards package. Unionized employees are eligible for surplus sharing as outlined in the Collective Agreement, while exempt and management employees are eligible for annual bonuses determined by job grade, corporate rating, and individual performance.

Employees are not eligible for a bonus if they fall into any of the following categories: temporary exempt employees, union employees on long-term disability, union employees on a casual contract, or union employees who have not completed their new hire probation by the surplus sharing payment date. However, employees on leave, who worked during the calendar year, will receive their bonus payment upon returning from leave.

Exempt and management employees are eligible for an annual bonus in accordance with their job grade, and which depends on individual performance and corporate performance.

Unionized employees participate in a surplus sharing provision outlined in the Collective Agreement.

Overtime Pay

Overtime hours and pay are available exclusively to bargaining unit employees. As outlined in the Collective Agreement, participation in overtime work is entirely voluntary. 

The above overtime pay and hours illustrate that women are more likely than men to volunteer for additional overtime work, leading to higher overtime earnings among female employees.