Worldwide, women only make 77 cents for every dollar earned by men.
This is according to research by UN Women
The International Labour Organisation says that this translates to 20 per cent less than men globally on average.
This is even though the work itself may require equal or more effort and skills, it’s valued and remunerated less.
“As a result, there’s a lifetime of income inequality between men and women and even more women are retiring into poverty,” they said.
They said that for women of colour, immigrant women, women with children and women with disabilities, the difference is even greater.
The gender pay gap was further widened by the onset of the covid-19 pandemic.
Women in the workforce have still not been able to recover, especially those who were driven into informal employment.
The so-called “motherhood penalty”, UN Women explains, pushes women into the informal economy, casual and part-time work, and tends to be larger in developing countries than in developed countries.
“740 million women in informal jobs reported earning 50 per cent less before covid-19 compared to 35 per cent less among men,” they said.
At the current rate of progress, they estimate there will be no equal pay until 2069.
“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,” they said.
“The right to receive equal remuneration is essential to achieving gender equality and a fairer more inclusive world,” they concluded.
