ABSTRACT
This chapter explores gender pay equity in midwifery and the impact on the sustainability of maternity services through case studies from two countries. Midwifery in both New Zealand and Ontario, where continuity of care models were introduced in the 1990s is currently standing at a crossroads where events could precipitate significant change within maternity services. The introduction of CoC was viewed as a breakthrough for the status of midwives and for women’s professions. However, over the intervening decades the remuneration for midwives in both jurisdictions has not kept pace with other professions. Juana Berinstein and Ellen Blais outline the gender pay equity claim on behalf of midwives in Ontario, whilst Karen Guilliand charts the negotiations that midwives are locked into with the New Zealand government. As this book goes to press neither of these situations have been resolved.
