Huge gender pay gap in South Asia

Women in South Asian countries earn 80% less than their male counterparts, an ActionAid study has found.

The study also reveals that inequalities of all kinds are on the rise. This is happening despite the fact that the moral, political and economic justifications for such inequalities - whether between women and men, between Dalit and Brahmin, or between black and white - are increasingly being challenged.

ActionAid, an international NGO working against poverty and injustice, published the findings in a report titled “The Price of Privilege: Extreme wealth, unaccountable power and the fight for equality in the 21st century.”

The study was based on work experiences in 45 countries and information from around the world. The study finds that women in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia earn 80% less than men.

Healthcare

Also, women from 32 countries contribute as much as $3 trillion in labour value to global healthcare in 2010, nearly half of it unpaid, the report states.

It recommends that women’s unpaid care burden should be redistributed and reduced.

This issue is especially important for Bangladesh where ActionAid says women spend six hours to do unpaid care work each day compared to only one hour spent by a man.

The richest 1% of the global population now control over half of the global wealth, while the poorer half of the world control less than 1% of wealth, the report says. The combined wealth of the 200 richest people in the world - $3.18 trillion - is greater than the total wealth of Africa - $2.83 trillion - and nearly equivalent to the total wealth of Brazil – $3.194 trillion. According to the report, the richest 64 individuals control as much wealth as the poorest 3.5 billion people combined.

Inequality

“When so many of the world’s resources are controlled by so few, we cannot talk about poverty and inequality without also talking about extreme wealth, consumption patterns and elite capture of power,” said Farah Kabir, country director of ActionAid Bangladesh.

All governments have now promised to act on inequality but almost all were failing to walk the talk. The power of money was ripping societies apart, she added. Countries like Bangladesh should focus on creating more and better jobs and ensuring that the rich paid their fair share as a way to pay for social protections for the poor and vulnerable communities, said Farah.

The ActionAid report also identifies a range of policy solutions that would decrease inequality by redistributing power and wealth in societies, including innovative solutions such as a maximum wage and better recognition and compensation for women’s unpaid care work.

Interconnections

The report further addresses the range of inequalities and the interconnections between them – especially how inequalities of gender and ethnicity intersected with inequalities of wealth.

According to another report, Women in Asia seem to be having a hard time in their workplace. Promoting their achievements and accomplishments seems to be a daunting task, according to Hays 2016 Gender Diversity Report.

The recruiting firm surveyed about 1,500 people globally. According to the findings, 47% of women feel they can promote themselves in their workplace.

Of the 1,183 respondents across Asia, only 38% said they have the opportunity to self-promote.

In Asian countries, Malaysian and Chinese women were most comfortable in promoting their accomplishments with 42% saying they felt they are able to showcase their achievements.

They were followed by Singapore at 36% and trailing behind were Japanese women at 35%.

“Women in Asia are traditionally more reserved in the workplace, due to cultural preconceptions of a woman’s role in society, and compared to men, are less likely to ask for a pay rise or a promotion” says Christine Wright, MD, Hays Asia.

Women also have differing priorities than men at certain stages of their lives, and many opt to put their career on the back-burner to raise a family.

Confidence

“Employers have a role to play in fostering the confidence of their female workforce by opening channels of communication for them to promote themselves. Employers also need to ensure that the top jobs in their organisation are attractive to women.

Women don’t necessarily crave the power that comes with a top job title like men do,” says Wright. In addition, flexible working practices are considered by Asian respondents in the survey to be the most effective measure in improving gender diversity in the workplace.

Employers should take practical measures to encourage more women to continue work even after having children.

The summary of the findings from the report will be presented at the Hays Japan diversity event taking place in June.

(Dhaka Tribune, Asia Times).