This article is based on a documentary that is a part of the Netflix series “Explained” and is being told by Rachel McAdams. It begins by explaining the differences in pay gaps all over the world. In Poland, women earn 91 cents for every dollar a man does. In Israel, it’s 81 cents. In South Korea, women make just 65 cents on the dollar.
When we talk about the pay gap, the phrase “equal pay for equal work” is often mentioned. This means that it stems from discrimination since an equal amount of work is being done by individuals of both genders but equal wage isn’t being given. The question is why?
Well, when you look back at history women did not work a lot. Between 1950 and 1960 80% of the men were a part of the workforce while only 30 to 35% of the women were working. Women did not have access to education either. Between 1950 and 1970, the population of men in the United States with 4+ years of college increased from 7% to almost 15%, while the population of women with a college degree increased from 5% to almost 9%.
“The only women that I saw in professional roles were teachers.” - Hillary Clinton
“When I was growing up, I knew one woman lawyer. One.” - Anne-Marie Slaughter
Women had restrictions on the type of jobs they could do. Even if they finished college with the same credentials as a man, the most they could get was the job of a secretary. People understood that a woman might need to earn some money so they could earn but not have a career because that was only for men. They were not provided with equal opportunities for education and learning. The workplace could open job positions for men only. Such discrimination was completely legal. Common perceptions were that women were less intelligent, and more emotional, they could not hold power, and should be homemakers. Such discouragement resulted in the lower participation of women in the workforce. Between 1960 and 1978 the wage gap was around 60 cents per dollar.
Then things started changing over the decades. More than the perception of the people, the efforts made by women changed. They started getting noticed. Women forced themselves into schools they weren’t “allowed” in. They started rising in the workplace. They started to build a career for themselves. A lot of the factors that influenced the place of women in society or rather suppressed them, changed. Slowly, but surely women started gaining their rightful place in society.
Even though women have proved themselves to be equal, the perception did not change.
Women are still seen as caregivers. This can be seen in the pay gap between men and women for the same amount of work. If they are working the same amount, why the difference? Discrimination. Now, the basis for discrimination is the fact that women should be raising children since they birth them.
“Many of the factors that were causing the pay gap shrunk, except for one.” “But what has stayed is that women bear children. They are assumed to be the primary caregiver.” - Anne-Marie Slaughter
A large number of people believe that women shouldn’t be in the workplace once they have kids. More than inequality between man and woman, it is inequality between a mother and a man. Motherhood makes it harder for a woman to grow in a work environment while traditionally it changes nothing for a man. A woman who is not a mother still earns 96% of what a man earns but for a mother, it is nowhere near the same. A lot of women do not mind the lost opportunities because to them their children are more important.
But all of this is still a lot more complicated. If a woman chooses a career that gives her more time with her children, the pay gap is still explainable. Here, the choice is the most important thing. You cannot just pay two individuals a different amount for the same work just because of their biological structure. There are 3x more single mothers than single fathers. Time and time again we are told how women should take upon the caregiver’s role. There was an article printed in the 1980s in which a person had asked how they should decorate their workspace, to which the reply was that if you are a man, you should decorate it with pictures of your family to present yourself as a provider. On the other hand, if you are a woman you shouldn’t put up pictures of your family as it will show that you are not able to think of anything but them.
Iceland and Rwanda are making quite a lot of progress. They have almost closed their pay gap. Rwanda was a very backward and poor country. In the genocide of 1994 8,00,000 people died. After that, the country was 50-60% women. Women had to take upon the jobs they would not have been given the opportunity of a year ago, due to a shortage of men. They needed women to grow.
In 1975, women marched out of their workplaces to protest the pay gap in Iceland. Businesses shut down resulting in large-scale changes. The first difference was that women became a lot more visible in the political field. In 1980, Iceland voted in the world’s first democratically-elected female president. In 1981, they added 3 months of paid maternity leave to their laws. In 1988, it was increased to a 6-month paid maternity leave. To abolish the idea of women being caregivers and not men, in 2000, it was amended to a 6-month paid maternity/paternity leave. It was a use it or lost it. Both parents took parental leave.
These numbers prove that eradicating the pay gap is not impossible. We know that it exists largely due to discrimination and the fact that working corporations favour men for employment. A large cultural shift has occurred as women have started working more and earning their rightful place in society alongside men. But, a much larger cultural shift will be required to change the perception of women being the caregiver. Sure, some women too have that viewpoint but the change has to be made through men.
“Until we think of men and women as both caregivers and breadwinners, we’re not gonna get there, because as long as it’s a woman problem then we are reinforcing that stereotype that care is her job.” - Anne-Marie Slaughter
The wage gap is a family issue more so than just a woman’s.
“Women have every right to be mothers without being penalised at work.” - Hillary Clinton
To reiterate, the gender pay gap or gender wage gap is the average difference between the salary or remuneration for men and women in the professional arena. As per the reports Women professionals are generally considered to be paid less than men.
Gender pay gap based on this information is explained as the result of the discrimination of employers toward the feminine sex in terms of pay, which discourages them to work certain jobs leading to creating a bigger gap.
The gender pay gap is the result of many factors, including race and ethnicity, disability, access to education, and age. As a result, different groups of women experience very different gaps in pay. The gender pay gap is a complex issue that will require robust and inclusive solutions. Such as -
Giving equal opportunities and trust to all genders.
All sector jobs should give equal flexibility to all genders so that they can work and handle their families together.
Notions of Men being more responsible should be changed. Every individual can be equally responsible and hence should be paid equally.