The answer to the question whether women
should be paid the same as men is a no
brainer. Unfortunately, despite the universally accepted premise that gender
wage gap is a roadblock to development and also unfair from the perspective of
equity, the difference persists. The difference is so much so that even an
achiever like Maria Sharapova recently went public with her accusation of
discrimination against women players in prize money. The issue is not peculiar
to tennis; it’s endemic across every economic activity across the globe,
including all fields of sports.
Take the case of the USA for example.
‘Payscale’ conducts regular surveys about different aspects of wage. According
to its 2018 survey the median salary for women there is 22 per cent less than
men. When it comes to the gap in salaries between equally qualified men and
women, the survey found that women in this category earn 97.8 cents to a dollar
earned by men.
In India macro studies are sadly not as
prolifically available as in the USA. But the surveys that are available about
gender wage gap are in agreement with the studies made elsewhere. According to
a study made by Prof Biju Varkkey of the Indian Institute of Management,
Ahmedabad, jointly with Rupa Kandea of the Foundation for Liberal and
Management Education, Pune, in India the gender pay gap is 24.8 per cent which
compares almost equivalently with the outcome of the ‘Payscale’ survey.
Globally, the wage gap is larger for women with
children. In sub-Saharan Africa and South Asian women earn over 30 per cent
less than men once they have children. And women are likely to be 80 per cent
poorer than men post retirement. Also the gender wage gap is inversely
proportional to the level of education which is really counter intuitive but
true. Because with the male dominance in the leadership there is a definite
bias against women of equal merit and the existence of glass ceiling is very
real.
What is sad about it is that that every
country has one law or the other to ensure that gender discrimination in wages.
For example, in India the Equal Remuneration Act was passed in 1976 and the law
is obeyed more in violation. In the USA, however, President Donald Trump
withdrew the provision trough a Presidential diktat.
The above statistics though proves the
existence of universal gender wage gap it doesn’t prove the debilitating impact
of such a gap. It merely goes to say that the gap exists. It is here that the
study by the World Economic Forum becomes relevant. It says that eliminating
gender wage gap can lead to an addition of between $ 12 trillion and $ 28
trillion to the global GDP by 2025.
It proves that a gender wage gap within the
same skill set is not only undesirable, it is also a debilitating practice for
any economy. And therefore all attempts should be made to address the issue not
only by India but also across the globe. But that is easier said than done.
I will close this blog with a fun fact which
is not really so funny given the statistics that have been discussed above. But
that cannot take away the fact that April 4 every year is observed as the Equal
Pay Day!
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