Already, the World Economic Forum (WEF) in 2017 forecasted that women around the world will not earn as much as men for the next 217 years.
Despite various developed countries emulating the Equality Act 2010, that was formulated in the United States Congress to eradicate sexual & gender imbalance manifested in workplaces in recent times, the pay gap is still evident. For clarity, Equality Act 2010 is an upgrade on the Equal Pay Act 1970, and the law on equal pay is set out in the ‘equality of terms’ provisions of the Equality Act 2010 (the Act). It gives a right to equal pay between women and men working in same organization, and covers individuals in the same employment conditions - and highlights equality in pay & all other contractual terms that include basic salary, bonuses and/or benefits, irrespective of full-time or part-time work duration.
Critics have argued that factors such as nature (defined roles) of job, work-related risks involved (which could be physical and/or mental), cultural attachment or predominance, duration of working hours, motherhood (that could often lead to drop in performance), revenue generation & distribution, to mention but a few, can largely negate realization of an equal pay for women and men. Questions about the needed infrastructure & economic policies to withstand whatever financial implications that would arise from such consideration, in the long term, have also been cited in the ongoing argument.
Particularly, can we have an emergence of more productive African women like, Salwa Akhannouch, Sibongile Sombo, Folorunsho Alakija, Njeri Rionge, Isabel dos-Santos, Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, to mention a few, many of who not only elevated through the pay-grade ranks but also have become employers of labour. Can the present wage gap affect such full realisation?
For the records, Iceland is ranked as the best place in the world for gender equality, and in 2018 became the first country to mandate companies to paying men and women equal wages. Other developed nations like USA, Germany, France, Canada, though not achieved a near-equal gender wage package, they have sought to manage the pay gap. In reality, women in the aforementioned powerful nations still earn about 80% of the amount paid to men - that is about 20% wage difference. [data via PayScale]
Continent of Africa is even worse, clearly still largely undeveloped In-terms of financial structures, sustainable economic infrastructure, rate of employment, amongst other unresolved factors already working against achieving that near-equal pay between both genders of men & women. Nigeria is Africa's most populous nation with over 195.8million people, having 60.65million labour force - with just about 50.53% female in its working population. [data via World Bank]
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| Kim DelMonico |
For more comprehension, I engaged Kim DelMonico (@KimDelMonico), a brands expert & author, on what's her vivid perception about the topical issue of same wage package for women and men. And she gave her candid thoughts - "Closing the gender wage gap is possible, but requires solutions that help ensure that women’s work is valued fairly and that they are not unfairly penalized for their roles as primary caregivers. Some of these solutions include raising minimum wage; supporting pay transparency; and support for affordable, high-quality child care."
"Additionally, women can help themselves by learning better negotiation skills, seeking promotions, and choosing careers that offer fair compensation," the influential author noted.
In another exclusive chat with Olalekan Adigun (@MrLekanAdigun) - a Public Affairs analyst - he somewhat remains supportive of the female gender on this issue. He noted, "On the question of equal pay, I think it's something we all should support. I honestly don't see any reason a woman shouldn't be paid the same amount as her male counterpart(s) doing the same job. If for anything, the average lady or woman while doing her job rides on so much psychological issues such emotions, pains, trust, insecurity, thus it is only natural to reward her undivided focus at achieving excellence on that job."
On whether it's realistic to achieve the agenda of same wage for both women and men, Olalekan Adigun was optimistic - "I think it is. The problem was and still remains the tradition of male domination. Such mentality must change for that to be realistic."
Also sharing his thoughts was social commentator & writer, Umeh (@UmehOma) - "I believe man and woman should be paid same if they’re doing the same work - except where a man has to do extra work routine, hence men get paid for the extra workload. Sometimes religion or cultural beliefs limit women in this context too, but such predominant beliefs need to be dumped or reviewed appropriately."
"And YES, the wage gap can be bridged. The government and concerned establishments must make conscious efforts to execute policies backed with workable effective laws that will make both genders (women and men) earn same. However, women too should 'come out of their shells' and prove, that if given that opportunity, they can assure excellent performances consistently worthy of an equal pay with their male counterparts," Umeh confidently claimed.
Many nations of the world have tried to address the gender pay gap by proffering laws that make it binding on companies to judiciously maintain a very reduced gender wage difference, but the problem still persists. Latest data from Global Wage Report 2018/2019 - considering full-time employed women - reveals Armenia being worst country with biggest gender wage difference of 26.1%, followed by Russian federation with 23.8%, while South Africa occupies the third spot with about 22.7% pay gap between men-women labour. Other nations in the world rankings include China with 17.0%, Bulgaria at 13.5%, Brazil offering 13.2%, Peru at 10.6%, and Nigeria with a deficiency of 18 - 21%. Expectedly, South Africa tops the African continent with the worst (biggest) gender pay disparity, followed by Namibia, Tanzania, and Malawi completing the Top4 in the black region. [stats via Global Wage Report]
Despite no assurances that an equal pay package can truly manifest in the foreseeable future, can we in Africa atleast achieve a significant reduction (bridging the gap) in gender wage inequality currently ranging at a high 21 - 22%?
Feel free to share your thoughts!
