March 8th marks International Women’s Day, a gender-focused event celebrating the achievements of women around the world. But the day also serves as a reminder that women all over the world still experience inequalities in education, access to opportunities, and pay.
According to numbers published by UN Women, women still only earn 77 cents for every dollar earned by men… that is for work of equal value. Sadly, this gap exists across all countries and industries.
“This stubborn inequality in the average wages between men and women persists in all countries and across all sectors because women’s work is under-valued and women tend to be concentrated in different jobs than men. Even though the work itself may require equal or more effort and skills, it’s valued and remunerated less. For women of color, immigrant women and mothers, the gap widens. The so-called “motherhood penalty” pushes women into informal economy, casual and part-time work, and tends to be larger in developing countries than in developed countries.”
And things are slow to change. Current projections tell us that it could be as long as 2069 before we may see equality in pay.
While inequality in pay is a consequence of the many inequalities faced by women every day, it has far-reaching consequences, particularly as women age. [Read more…]