Gender pay gap in G20 set to last for 75 years

Women in the world’s major G20 economies will have to wait 75 years to earn as much as men, according to an Oxfam report published yesterday.

The report also found that if women’s paid employment rates were the same as men, the eurozone’s GDP would increase by 13%. A radical change of attitude among society and government is now called for in order to address this issue, according to Oxfam Ireland CEO Jim Clarken.

The Oxfam report, titled The G20 and Gender Equality, was published yesterday in advance of a G20 Business Summit in Australia this week. It shows that in the G20 countries and beyond, women were paid less than men; were over-represented in part-time work, and were discriminated against in the household, markets and institutions.

Clarken said the gap between women and men’s pay reflected a fundamental and entrenched form of inequality. “The report clearly shows that the absence of women’s rights drives poverty, while their fulfilment drives development, so the gender gap is not about women’s issues alone but systematic issues that determine the wellbeing of everyone in rich and poor countries alike.”

The report also highlighted the interaction between women’s paid and unpaid workloads. Women across G20 countries work an average of two to five hours more unpaid work than men per day. The monetary value of unpaid care work is estimated at anything from 10% to over 50% of GDP.

Clarken said: “One of the biggest gender gaps and most fundamental gender inequalities is unpaid care work. Ireland still relies heavily on the unpaid contributions of women – from caring for children, elderly and sick members of the household community and domestic labour.

“This unpaid work is vital for any society, but when it is unequally distributed, creates time deficits that affect women primarily and create gender inequality.”

He added: “Without explicit attention to the advancement of women’s rights, policies are more likely to create new forms of inequality rather than eliminate it. To do this requires a radical change of attitude the world over and here in Ireland. “Until and unless we have a zero tolerance approach to inequality between men and women, we will all lose out.”

Bloc of 20

Formed in 1999, G20 is a group of finance ministers and central bank governors from 20 major economies. The members include 19 individual countries — Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States — and the European Union.

The EU is represented by the President of the European Council and by the European Central Bank.

Collectively, the G20 economies account for around 85% of the gross world product, 80% of world trade and two-thirds of the world’s population.