Why do you need to care about the wage gap: And How?

 

Why do you need to care about the wage gap: And How?

 

How long is the fight for gender equality?

How is any woman supposed to work knowing that she is paid a fraction of what her male colleague is paid? And for what?

The wage difference between men and women is essentially what is called unequal pay.

The wage gap is the phenomenon that gives rise to overall gender inequality but it's a lot more than being paid less or more for the same job. The gender wage gap is a multifaceted issue. We witness more than only one issue that is directly or indirectly related to or is born by the unfair allocation of money between genders. As we move forward understanding this social evil, we have to correct our definitions first.

What are the gaps in our awareness about the Wage Gap?

The Wage gap refers to the difference in the average payment or compensation of men and women who are working. It means that if we take a total of remuneration of all women of an organization and total of remuneration of all men of the same organization, and find the averages. The difference is called the wage gap. Women are very often paid lesser than men for the same positions at work.

This implies that women are not as financially free as men and are given lesser opportunities. Not only it creates a wedge between the genders but also discourages women from pursuing their careers.

The wage gap drives Inequality; what drives the Wage gap?

As we face and continually keep the fight about the wage gap, we have to understand where it all comes from. And how to shut this pipe of filth. There are four main (non-exclusive, non-exhaustive) causes of the growing wage gap. 

1.      There are more men in senior roles than women.

The key factor to the wage gap is the absence of more women in senior roles. The statement can make some people think that maybe women do not work as hard or are not capable enough for senior roles. But we cannot make this sweeping generalization (just how not all men! Exactly that. ) about gender.

There is a myth of assuming that senior roles can only be done full-time. Senior roles require long hours and there is no place for part-time. But we need to accept that people are not only workers, but they are parents or caregivers as well. So the rearrangement of the assumption for senior roles can help many to go for senior roles without being restricted by the responsibilities of the home. It will help a lot of women who are bound by their houses and why only women? Men as well.

2.      Women are held responsible for building a “Home”

As a gender, women, are given the responsibility of bearing children and feeding them for six months (which is something you decide). After that, the responsibility of the child stays attached to the mother. This associates women with homemaking and taking care of children.

After the child is born or even before, it is not rational to put all the pressure of keeping the house together on the woman. As women grow more towards financial freedom, their success is still measured by how well-maintained their house is. How many chores can they perform before they go out of the house? While men are not seen or shown (in digital entertainment sources) to be responsible for the environment of the house. There are only nagging-lazy-bad mothers, wives, women in our cinemas or television. As much as it is important that a home has to be maintained, it is not right to put that on women only.

Pro tip: Next time when you are asked to stay at home and not work, ask your husband to send his half salary to your separate bank account. Because apparently, your husband considers you to be their equal in everything.

3.      Women are restricted to low-paying roles

As we saw that women are associated with building the house and homely responsibilities, this also causes women to choose low-paying jobs. The jobs that they can handle with their home life. Such jobs are usually teaching, making stuff, or jobs that can be done part-time. It causes women to be restricted to low-paying jobs. It also negatively affects the wage gap.

Ask to share the responsibility and demand that it is not only women who are plausible for the clean, decorated house with responsible well-read children.

4.      Companies are not following The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976.

A long time ago, there was a time when men used to go to work and women used to stay at home. The thing to note here is that it was a long time ago and should be left there. Today more women work and most of them have to face the enigma of getting paid less than men to spend in the same market as men spend it in.

A large part of what has supported the wage gap for so long is the irrational and irresponsible workings of companies. If every company took the responsibility to remove the wage gap; the wage gap would cease to exist.

The equal remuneration act, 1976, supports "equal remuneration between men and women who are working, and prevent any discrimination based on sex towards women.”

How we can change this? By having open conversations about our salaries with our colleagues. By discussing your salaries, you can be aware if the company you work for are following the rules or are complete trash.

There is a stigma about discussing salaries which can only drive the wage gap further. Asking openly and telling openly can help a lot in reducing the wage gap.

Conclusion

The wage gap has not reduced in the last 25 years and it is time to actively dissolve it. The wage gap is a phenomenon that affects the whole society. The key is to identify when you see discrimination and to learn to actively look out for discrimination is reading more about these topics. Reading more on these topics will help your mind to be on alert when it happens to you or around you. Identify and then challenge it. Whether it is a sexist joke or a pay gap. Don’t be afraid of filing complaints, as it will help you and others to have the equal treatment they deserve.