Women and work: the problem of equality

Sophie Shaw talks pay disparity, maternity leave and female injustice…

For every pound that a man earns, a woman earns 80 pence. Those are the current figures released by the Office of National Statistics. The gender pay gap has been widened for the first time in five years, with women now earning 15.7 percent less than their equivalent male colleagues. Effectively, women are now working 57 un-paid days a year, which comes as a surprise considering that nearly 60 years ago the principle of equal pay for equal work was written in the EU Treaties. The EU Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, Viviane Reding, recently commented: “It is high time that it is put in practice everywhere”. With gender equality being such a hot topic in today’s society, it’s rather shocking that a difference in pay is even an issue anymore.

The gender pay gap has been widened for the first time in five years, with women now earning 15.7 percent less than their equivalent male colleagues.

So why is there still a gender pay gap? B.J. Epstein, a lecturer in Public Engagement, says that sexism plays a big role, but also believes that women’s own reservations are a reason for the inequality. He argues: “women are less likely to apply for pay increases or promotions or higher paid jobs; women tend to feel that they need to have all the skills/requirements before doing so, whereas men often feel that they might as well apply and see what happens, regardless of whether they meet the requirements.” From Epstein’s perspective, it would seem as though empowering women and teaching them invaluable knowledge about confidence and negotiating salaries could finally bring pay disparity to an end.

The biggest reason that women are paid less than men is … to do with an employer’s wish to get their “money’s worth” when it comes to their staff. You don’t have to dig deep into statistics to realise that childbirth is a contributing factor towards the gender pay gap.

Unfortunately, the issue with pay is not this simple. The biggest reason that women are paid less than men is not due to something which can be changed in a seminar, but, rather, is to do with an employer’s wish to get their “money’s worth” when it comes to their staff. You don’t have to dig deep into statistics to realise that childbirth is a contributing factor towards the gender pay gap. The gap between women’s and men’s wages gets drastically wider in the years after most people start having children. With women being able to take 52 weeks of maternity leave, and 39 of those weeks being paid Statutory Maternity Pay, it might seem obvious why employers pay women less. Then you have to factor in women’s life after childbirth, taking time off work for child sickness, school plays, school holidays etc, and some women leaving work for good. The chief executive of Thomas Cook remarked that women’s careers would suffer if they took a year’s maternity leave. It’s an unfair, but very real truth.

Photo: Lauren / Flickr

So how can we solve this? Well, it seems that empowering women may be the way forward after all. Women need to be able to feel allowed to speak up and spark open debates about gender inequalities in the workplace. Powerful women in industry are the role models for young girls and conversations regarding raising children alongside progressing in careers need to be initiated in order to move away from inequality. The introduction of more affordable childcare will enable more women to be welcomed back to work, as most women say the reason they take time off or leave work is due to the realisation that sending a child to childcare is less financially viable than going back to work. This, along with new legislation being brought in (which will allow couples to split 12 months of parental leave in the way they want) endorses the allowance of women to be paid the same as men for their equal work.