This woman's work: why the gender employment gap hampers prosperity
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Version 0 of 1. It’s that time of the year again: in the mountains above Zurich, the global elite, mostly men, gather for the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) to discuss the state of the world and the global economy. But while this year’s Outlook on the Global Agenda report cites income inequality and growth in unemployment as the most pressing of the top 10 trends for 2015, and prominent women rue the lack of female voices in the boardroom, the issue of women’s economic inequality remains largely out of the spotlight. To reveal the scale of this crisis, ActionAid has calculated the cost to women of inequality in pay and rates of employment. Our new briefing paper Close the gap! shows that women in poor countries could be a staggering $9tn better off if their pay and access to paid work were equal to those of men. ActionAid used data from the International Labour Organisation (ILO), UN and World Bank to calculate the increase in women’s wages that would occur as a result of closing the gap between women and men on average wages and average of rates of employment in poor countries. Although the figure of $9tn is mind-boggling, the calculation does not even factor in raising incomes to the level of a living wage, nor estimate for the contribution of the unpaid care work undertaken by women. This means that the real cost is likely to be considerably higher. Other statistics tell the same story. Globally, the participation of women in the labour force has stagnated at about 50%, while the figure for men still hovers at roughly 80%. Worldwide, more than half of employed women are in informal and vulnerable work, and in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia more than 80% of all jobs for women are unregulated and precarious. Women often work in exploitative conditions and shoulder disproportionate unpaid care responsibilities (such as child rearing, domestic chores, and caring for the sick and elderly). In India, for example, women spend 10 times as much time on unpaid care work than men, and as many as 45% of women of working age are confined solely to domestic duties. Recent experience suggests that women – and men – are pushing back. In January 2014, exasperation at years of low pay erupted into nationwide strikes in Cambodia, where women make up 90% of employees in the garment industry. While Cambodia’s GDP almost doubled between 2007 and 2013 – fuelled largely by the multibillion dollar garment industry – the gender wage gap in the country more than doubled between 2004 and 2009. This despite the fact that female labour has been a major contributor to Cambodia’s economic rise. One garment worker told us: “We want an economic system that allows people to live with dignity, not in slavery. We’re not asking to live like CEOs, but to at least get paid a living wage. Corporates are earning millions, even billions a year.” But gender inequality in work not only has consequences for women; without the subsidy that female workers provide, the world economy could not function. And women enjoying decent work and equal living wages is a path to poverty eradication, gender equality, sustainable development and inclusive growth. According to the ILO, $1.6tn in output could be generated by reducing the prevailing gender employment gap. Indeed, valuing and recognising women‘s work, both paid and unpaid, might be one of the most important factors for keeping many households out of poverty, thus driving progress and prosperity for all. Women’s economic inequality hasn’t come about by accident. As Close the gap! reveals, it is a result of the unjust politics that shape our economy, including the pursuit of growth at any cost and the fact that women’s voices continue to be silenced and ignored. It is also rooted in, and drives, wider gender discrimination in society – for example, violence against women and girls or the violation of sexual and reproductive rights. Governments, businesses and international institutions all have the power to create the conditions required to give women in developing countries the chances they deserve in and at work, and close the gaps in pay and employment. It is time for the international community and the WEF to rise to the challenge and address the issue of inequality in women’s work. Kasia Staszewska is ActionAid’s Women’s Policy Adviser and author of Close the Gap |