Not to take anything away from the amazing men of the world, but women do so much on so little.
Firstly, we earn less. I’m posting this blog now because September 18 is the United Nations International Equal Pay Day. Its focus is “equal pay for work of equal value”.
In Australia where I live, The Status of Women Report Card for 2024 reports women would need to work a whopping 44 more days a year than men to earn the same income. Women’s full-time average weekly earnings is 12% less than men, which amounts to $238 per week!
Secondly, this report tells us we do more than 9 hours extra a week in unpaid work (such as housework) and care (such as caring for children and elderly relatives).
Wow, how amazing are we to function so well under such conditions?
But amazing as we are, the fact remains we earn less and do more. Hardly equitable. And change is, unfortunately, slow and sometimes isn’t even always in the right direction. In 2014, for example, the gender pay gap was the highest it had been since the early 1990s (https://www.equalpayday.com.au/pay-equity/).
Part of the problem is many professions that attract women are lower paid. Cleaners, child-care workers, teachers, and nurses are among professions that are vital for society, but which do not attract wages equivalent to their importance. The higher paid positions of many of these female-oriented professions are often staffed by men! Many part-time workers are also women as they attempt to balance between home and work duties.
Add in the stay at home parents, usually women, for whom average weekly earnings can be even smaller or even non-existent (they apparently get paid in “love”), and you start to get a clear picture of why that gender pay gap exists. By the way, a report in 2020 suggested the value of unpaid care given in Australia (mostly by women) equates to approximately $1.5 billion a week. That’s a whole lot of “love”.
How can we do better? Know this: if there was an easy solution the problem would have been fixed by now. But for encouragement, look up the Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC). They are making some inroads.
Remember we can’t fix what we don’t know is broken. Educate yourself, and then educate everyone, the women and the men in your life, about how important women are, the place we hold in the world, and the issues we face. Teach your daughters, nieces and granddaughters well. Advocate for yourself strongly. Don’t take no for an answer. Look for opportunity. Stay out of debt as far as possible, because financial security is of paramount importance. Grow strong supportive bonds with other women.
Remind yourself how amazing you are and how amazing we all are. We women are generally smaller and less physically strong than our male counterparts, but our capacity to move through a world that does not support us is nothing short of phenomenal.
Joni Page 