Despite centuries of oppression, followed by decades of fighting against it, women, for a fact are still not treated as equals to their male counterparts. One prominent area where this can be observed is the workforce or the economy itself. That being said, with today’s topic, I aim to dig out the root of this societal evil and suggest some methods of diminution if not total eradication.

Let’s start by taking a look at the statistics, according to the World Economic Forum (WEforum) and United Nations Women (UNW), on a global average, a woman only earns 77 cents for each dollar that a man earns. given below is a list of country-wise averages according to data.oecd.

• Belgium: 95 cents
• Costa Rica: 90 cents
• USA: 80 cents
• Bulgaria: 80 cents
• Norway: 75 cents
• India: 73 cents
• Italy: 65 cents
• Romania: 60 cents
• Argentina: 55 cents
• Greece: 45 cents
• Croatia: 30 cents
• New Zealand: 20 cents
• Iceland: 15 cents
• Australia: 10 cents
• Lithuania: 5 cents

Clearly there is a distinct variation in these numbers depending on the region in question. which leads us to ponder, is gender the only factor going into the pay gap?

In actuality, gender is not the only contributor. According to studies conducted over the years, the kind of jobs picked up by women are a huge contributor, in general women tend to pick up jobs like assistants, teachers, receptionists etc. that pay significantly less than jobs like engineers, managers or CEOs.

If we go by this logic then women in the same industries and positions as men should earn just as much, right?

That is actually once again, not the case. Let’s take a look at the case of both organized and unorganized sectors in this aspect.
In the organized sector, at the entry level positions men and women are paid almost the same amount, but as years pass the growth chart shows that men keep earning more whereas women have significantly lower salaries. The reason behind the same will be looked upon in the next topic.

Similarly in the unorganized sector, women are often paid less on the sole basis of discrimination, stating that they are less capable of the same work as men. Due to lack of proper contractual agreements employers and managers are able to get away with this malpractice.

It may seem idealistic to counter the above situations simply by stating “equal pay for equal work.” However, what if in some cases the work is not equal? To answer this, we must bring in the societal norms and expectations. In general, parenting and childcare are considered to be women’s work instead of involving both parents. Due to this very reason after giving birth most women are further down the career ladders, while their male counterparts are far ahead.

Taking the topic a step further, many employers are afraid to hire women with the same or even better qualifications as men simply due to the need for maternity and childcare leaves. However, recent developments show that many corporates and MNCs have adopted the concept of mandatory paternity leave as well in order to better distribute childcare responsibilities.

Then clearly, there is a way to tackle the pay gap. Iceland and Norway have exhibited notable performances in this area. Given below are the measures adopted by the countries.

Iceland:
Pay Transparency: Employers are required to conduct regular gender pay audits and report disaggregated pay gaps.
Equal Pay Certification: Companies must obtain certification to demonstrate equal pay for equal work.
Strong Legal Framework: Iceland has robust legislation to promote gender equality in the workplace.

Norway also has similar measures as listed below:
Quotas for Corporate Boards: Norway introduced quotas to ensure women’s representation on corporate boards, leading to increased gender diversity.
Parental Leave Policies: Generous parental leave policies encourage shared caregiving responsibilities, reducing career gaps for women.
Promoting STEM Education: Norway actively encourages women to pursue STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields, addressing occupational segregation.

These countries serve as a testimony to the fact that, if we want to: we can.
On an ending note, The Gender Pay Gap took centuries to form, but can be destroyed in just decades or less, if we take appropriate measures. Gender may not be the only aspect responsible for this gap, but is certainly the most prominent one. Lastly, as Geeta Phogat said, “It’s about hard work and not gender.”