International Equal Pay Day is observed annually on September 18. This holiday was instituted in 2019 by the Pay Equality Allied Nation to raise public understanding of this ongoing problem. They want to eradicate prejudice due to salary gaps. The wage gap’s effects on women of colour and other minorities are highlighted today. While numerous organisations are making great efforts to reduce the gender wage gap, many Americans continue to reject its presence. People need to educate themselves and others around them for that reason. Addressing a problem is more challenging if many individuals fail to recognize it.
Key takeaways
- International Equal Pay Day aims to draw attention to the gender pay gap problem and increase global understanding.
- It aims to solve the issue of women receiving lower pay than their male colleagues.
- The Un is committed to advancing civil dignity against all forms of bigotry, particularly those targeting women and girls. This initiative improves on that commitment.
History of International Equal Pay Day
Every year on September 18, the world observes World Equal Pay Day. This day has been devoted to bringing attention to the underpayment of women and advocating for eliminating the gender pay disparity. In the U. S. in 2019, women made around $0.82 for every dollar that males made. Gender, religion, and disabilities all affect the wage gap for women in different ways. Hispanic women, who presently receive 57% of what a white guy does, are paid the lowest in the United States. The issue with the pay disparity is that it impacts several families through decades and results in women of colour accumulating less income overall. Almost all professions and sectors exhibit this salary disparity, but those with a male predominance stand out. The yearly salary for female doctors is $19 billion.
The National Committee on Equal Pay, a collaboration of men’s and women’s civil rights groups dedicated to abolishing gender and race-based wage inequality, established International Equal Pay Day in 1996. The Pay Equality International Effort formally acknowledged it in 2019, and the UN recognized it in 2020. The first iteration of the United Nations-recognized International Equal Pay Day was held on Sept 18, 2020.
Employers are required to consider good defences when calculating pay. This indicates that when tenure and job title are considered, salary disparities may be justified if a woman’s compensation must be increased in place of a man’s if the pay disparity is based on the gender of the employees.
Equal compensation for equal value labour
International Equal Pay Day, observed on September 18, commemorates lengthy efforts to achieve equal compensation for the same work. It strengthens the UN’s commitment to protecting human rights and abolishing all forms of prejudice, especially discrimination against girls & women.
Women are paid just under males internationally, with gender pay disparity estimated at roughly 20%. This is true across all regions. Due to the perseverance of historically and structurally inequalities in power relations between men and women, economic hardship, and disparities and drawbacks in access to opportunities and resources that restrict women’s and girls’ functionality, women’s rights and the empowerment of girls are still held back. There has been little movement toward closing that disparity. While many people support pay equality for men and women, doing so, in reality, has proven challenging.
The SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) speak to the importance of achieving equality and the rights of all women and girls to ensure that nobody is left behind. The SDGs also aim for full and productive employment, good work for all women and men, particularly for young individuals and individuals with disabilities, as well as equitable remuneration for work that is valued equally. The 2030 Sustainable Development Goals must include a participatory approach in its application.
Equal pay is a significant step in advancing gender human rights and equality. The entire international society must put out efforts, and there is still much to be done. To advance equal compensation for equal work as well as the economic empowerment of women and girls, the Un, together with UN Women and the ILO (International Labour Organization), invites the Member States and civilized society, women and social organizations, feminist organizations, as well as business owners and employees and employers’ organizations.
International Coalition for Equal Pay
The ILO, UN Women, and other organisations are in charge of the EPIC (Equal Pay International Coalition). The Coalition wants to see women and men paid equally worldwide. EPIC assists authorities, businesses, employees, and their organisations in achieving this aim by drawing together a broad group of players with various specialities and areas of experience. EPIC is the only multi-stakeholder collaboration now tackling the issue of significantly closing the gender pay disparity worldwide.
Importance of International Equal Pay Day
Through numerous activities, International Equal Wage Day offers a global forum for women to discuss the problem of pay gap disparities. It invites individuals worldwide to collaborate and devise solutions to attain the objective of equal pay. Comparable compensation for men and women might assist in a fair society where everyone has equal opportunity. Corporations will also gain from equal pay since it will increase productivity and effectiveness by recruiting top talent and lowering the risk of worker turnover. It would represent a significant advance towards women’s emancipation in feudal nations.
