The Gender Pay Gap

The Gender Pay Gap refers to the average disparity between how much women are paid relative to men. Internationally, women make only 77 percent of how much men make. This means that, on average, if a man earns 1 dollar, a woman would only earn 77 cents for that dollar. In India specifically, women’s median wages are 28% less than that of men. The situation has only been exacerbated by the pandemic – the gap between women’s and men’s earnings in India has widened by 7%.

While these differences in how much men and women are paid for equal work can to some extent be attributed to variations in educational attainment, experience, etc., a large contributing factor is discrimination and selective treatment in the workplace. Even when adjusting measures of the gender wage gap for the level of education achieved, work experience, and so on, the change in the gender pay gap is barely discernible. This proves that women across sectors, positions, and educational qualifications face a disparity in how much they are paid compared to men, albeit to varying degrees.

Working mothers and pregnant women have been found to be paid less compared to both fathers with children and women without children. Furthermore, factors like race, age, etc. play a role. Researchers have found that Black and Hispanic women in the US receive lower wages compared to men and women of all other races. In addition, the gender pay gap widens as women grow older – men’s wages go on increasing well into their 50s and 60s but women’s wages plateau and eventually decline following their 30s and 40s. According to a Pew research study, around 42% of women in the US have reported that they have experienced discrimination in the workplace, with the most common form of discrimination being differences in earnings.

Evidently, discrimination at work and the gender pay gap are widespread issues that must be dealt with. Despite equal pay for work of equal value long being protected by the International Labour Organisation and recognized as a form of discrimination against women, gender inequality in wages still persists across countries in the world. It has been estimated that the average woman in the US loses more than $530,000 over her lifetime as a result of the gender wage gap. Although there have been significant strides made in terms of narrowing the gap, there is still a long way to go – at the current rate of progress, it will take at least 70 more years to achieve parity in earnings.

Thus, companies must ensure that women receive fair and equal wages to their male counterparts for equivalent work, and the government must enact legislation to this effect. Doing so will not only further the welfare and equality of women but contribute to economic growth for countries across the world.

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