Narrowing the gender pay gap - a persistent problem

One would expect much to have been achieved in terms of equal pay and gender equality in 2022. Women across the globe have, over the years made their mark in the arenas of arts, sport, science, business and politics. However, the statistics on pay received by women in comparison to their male counterparts reveal that there is much to be done in championing equal pay in the 21st century. This extract looks at the issues of equal pay in lieu of International Equal Pay-day on the 18th September. 

Worldwide, women earn 17% less than their male counterparts on average, resulting in income inequality and a larger proportion of women retiring into poverty. In 2018, the International Labor Organisation (ILO) found, that on average, only a relatively small share of the gender pay gap could be explained by differences in education and other labour market attributes, whilst a large share of the gap remained unexplained. Further, the World Economic Forum predicts, at current rates it would take nearly 250 years to close the gender pay gap.

The issue of achieving gender pay parity is not only faced by developing nations but is also experienced by developed nations such as the United States (recording a gender pay gap of 17.65% in 2020), Japan (22.52% in 2020), and Australia (12.27% in 2020). According to the UN, women with children feel the brunt of unequal pay, as in Sub Saharan Africa, the gender pay gap is 31% for women with children and 4% for women without children. This same trend appears to be followed by South Asia, which recorded a gender pay gap of 35% for women with children, and a pay gap of 14% for women without children. Further, research indicates that the gender pay gap widens for women of colour and immigrant women.

As is evident, much remains to be done in championing equal pay. Many have opined that government interventions such as higher minimum wages, universal social protections such as income security, paid maternity leave, and other social and healthcare support are essential in bridging the gender pay gap but what more can be done by the private sector to ensure that we all play a part in championing pay and gender equality?

The Global Impact Initiative’s (GII) Gender Equality fund is the world’s first, actively managed impact fund for Women and Girls. Gender equality is long overdue, and this investment solution enables investors to utilise investment capital to deliver empowerment for women in the workforce and better outcomes for girls' health, education, nutrition and social and economic empowerment. The fund has partnered with Robeco, Grameen Australia, Malala Fund, UN Women Australia, UNICEF Australia and World Vision to accelerate social impact for women and girls.  

This innovative, impactful fund is available as an Australian Fund and a Dublin-based UCITs and the minimum investment is only $5,000. Please contact us via our website for more information should you be interested in investing in gender equality and helping to close the gender gap!