In today's society, the gender wage gap and the equality of pay rates have been highly discussed and debated topics. Although the idea of equal pay can be subjective in these discussions, it has a very simple meaning. Equal pay means that individuals doing the same work should be compensated equally to their counterparts . Currently, equal pay is not a reality and a gender gap exists. This gap is multifaceted, influenced by complex socio-economic factors and systemic biases.
One key aspect of this is occupational segregation, in which women are over-represented in ‘traditional roles’ and lower paying industries such as education, beauty and caregiving, while men dominate much higher paying fields like technology, finance and STEM.
The pay gap is also further enforced by societal norms which force women to prioritise family duties over professional growth, leading to career interruptions. The lack of support from both sides; society and work environments, creates a glass ceiling effect. Due to this and low representation of women, it is hard for them to gain access to leadership positions in most industries, let alone any male dominated industries. This implicit bias creates unequal opportunities, and an invisible barrier that prevents women from reaching desired positions and goals.
Moreover, race also plays a very crucial role in this. Women of colour encounter challenges that aggravate their wage gap. Historical injustices and systemic racism in industries are major contributing factors to the pay gap, creating barriers which they have to additionally face as women. Only way to tackle this is by enforcing strategies and policies to dismantle systemic oppression and promote diversity.
In order to close the gap and achieve real gender parity, it is critical to promote a cultural change towards appreciating, caring about and acknowledging the contributions of women in all occupations. Eradicating the gender pay gap is ultimately essential to achieving social justice and developing an inclusive and equitable society, in addition to being a question of economic justice.
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