Where Do We Stand In Gender Wage Gap?
This article aims to assess the world’s improvement in implementing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal number 5. A. This SDG involves equal rights in ownership of economic resources.
As the article proceeds, it will show the quantitative side of gender discrimination in wages. However, it is essential to note that each number shows a qualified woman who is unable to earn what men earn. Thus, as we view it as numbers for research, a woman alive is facing this ruthless reality.
The major question remains whether women are treated as men in income distribution. Although, the answer seems obvious noting that women are underpaid. It is important to test the magnitude of this gap. Also, it is crucial to assess whether this gap witnessed a tightening across the years.
Where do we stand regarding income bias?
The above visual shows the income gap between male and female managers. We can observe that the gap has generally tightened in 2007 which is caused by a hike in female salaries. However, after this, the gap increased to reach 6.53 dollars in 2017. Then, the second line graph reflects a plotting of the gap itself. What is observable here is that the gap decreased. Yet the question is whether it is acceptable to see a decrease of approximately 50 cents in 13 years.
Thus, despite interventions to solve this problem, we can see that it still exists.
Visual 2:
Visual 3
This visual shows the salary gap between positions for both genders. The intention behind this visual is to test whether the gap between positions is higher for men than that women. If it is, this means that male managers are getting overly paid relative to laborers. Moreover, it shows that female managers are being underpaid relative to their positions.
We can see that the above visual proves that our hypothesis is right. The average gap between managers and laborers is $25.23 for males and $21.12. There is a gap of 4$ here. This shows that on average a male will get an additional $4 working as a manager just because he is a male.
The above observations show that the income injustice problem between gender still exists. However, what are the solutions for this inequality?
Solutions:
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Empower Women SmallHolders
As mentioned by the UNWOMEN, if women farmers had equal access to adequate resources as men farmers. Their farms’ yields will increase by 20% on average. Therefore, empowering Small Holders will increase these female laborers’ income to match those of males.
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Invest in Care
It is a fact that the healthcare sector is majorly dominated by women. Thus, investing in this sector will generate new job offers in this sector and increase the salaries provided over there.
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Support Women in Leadership
This comes from a crucial fact that women are at a natural disadvantage during their maternal leaves. Thus, it is advised to extend maternal leaves to ensure that mothers are fully recovered when they are back at work. Also, it is important to keep women involved during their leaves to ensure that their promotion is not delayed because of this natural factor.
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Fund Women Organization
It is essential to fund women’s organizations since strong civil society organizations influence the state and the corporate actors. Also, they aid in inducing changes in both the private and the public sectors by pressuring their actions regarding women.