Ajit Karn
Gender Gap At Work Is Much Worse Than Expectation
The United Nations reported on Monday that women have a more difficult time gaining employment globally than previously believed, while the gender gap in working conditions and pay has scarcely changed in the past two decades.
The International Labour Organization of the United Nations has developed a new indicator that is more effective than official unemployment rates at capturing all unemployed individuals who are actively seeking employment.
Two days before International Women’s Day, the ILO released a statement stating, “It portrays a much bleaker picture of the situation of women in the workplace than the more commonly used unemployment rate.”
New data indicates that women continue to have a much more difficult time obtaining employment than males.
According to new ILO data, 15% of women of working age worldwide would like to work but are unemployed, compared to 10.5% of men.
“This gender disparity has remained virtually unaltered for 20 years,” the report stated.
In contrast, the official unemployment rates for men and women are virtually identical.
According to the ILO, this is because the criteria used to determine if someone is officially unemployed tend to exclude women disproportionately.
It was noted that women are disproportionately burdened with domestic and family obligations, including unpaid care labour.
It was stated that such activities not only prevent women from working, but also from actively seeking employment or being available for work on short notice, which are criteria for being considered unemployed.
Nearly a quarter of women in low-income countries were unemployed, according to a study conducted by the United Nations’ labour organisation.
ILO reported that the corresponding rate for males was below 17 percent.
Employment access is not the only issue.
ILO noted that women tend to be overrepresented in certain types of vulnerable occupations, such as assisting out in relatives’ enterprises as opposed to being self-employed.
ILO stated, “This vulnerability, coupled with reduced employment rates, has a negative impact on women’s earnings.”
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“Women earned only 51 cents for every dollar of labour income garnered by males on a global scale.”
In the meantime, the gender pay disparity varies significantly across regions, with the figure falling to 33 cents in low-income countries and rising to 58 cents in high-income countries.
This remarkable disparity in earnings is a result of both women’s lower employment rate and their lower average earnings when they are employed, according to the International Labor Organization.
