PURPOSE: The International Equal Pay Day celebrated in 18 September, represents the longstanding efforts towards the achievement of equal pay for work of equal value. The gender pay gap is not caused by women earning less than men for the same job. It is largely because women choose different careers and suffer a “motherhood penalty”’. Women who work full-time, still earn 15% less than men. But that's not because they are paid less for the same jobs. It's because they're in different jobs. Women are in less senior jobs. In Britain, France and Germany, 80-90% of executive jobs are held by men. Women also tend to choose different occupations. In America over 80% of teachers, nurses, secretaries, and health workers are female and these jobs tend to be lower paid. Primary school teachers in the West earn nearly 20% less than the average graduate job. Nurses earn less than police officers. Cleaners less than caretakers. Women are as ambitious as men. They earn the majority of university degrees. In America, they now ask for promotions as often as men. But it's the price women pay for motherhood that holds them back. In Britain, 70% of mothers reduced their working hours or switched to a less demanding job compared with 11% of fathers. In Australia it's 56% of mothers and 19% of fathers, while in France 55% of mothers scaled back compared to 13% of fathers. When an American women goes back to work her salary is on average lower than it would have been if she hadn't had a child. The race for gender equality is far from over. As more children choose non-traditional careers and men do more childcare, fewer working women will be held back. Understanding the gender Pay Gap.

FORUM: “Pay of the Future: Solutions to close the Gender Pay Gap.” International Equal Pay Day 2024. During the day, we will celebrate achievements and discuss the challenges on the way to achieving equal pay as well as provide an opportunity for you to make a new equal pay pledge. Across all regions, women are paid less than men, with the gender pay gap estimated at around 20% globally. Gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls continue to be held back owing to the persistence of historical and structural unequal power relations between women and men, poverty and inequalities and disadvantages in access to resources and opportunities that limit women’s and girls’ capabilities. Progress on narrowing that gap has been slow. While equal pay for men and women has been widely endorsed, applying it in practice has been difficult. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) promote decent work and economic growth by seeking full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value. Mainstreaming of a gender perspective is crucial in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Achieving equal pay is an important milestone for human rights and gender equality. It takes the effort of the entire world community and more work remains to be done. Follow the conversation with the hashtags #EqualPayDay, #GenerationEquality, #SDG5, #EqualPay and #18September.

EVENTS: You are invited attend a High-Level Pledging Event to mark International Equal Pay Day 2024 on September 18th, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm EDT organized by the Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC), which is led by the International Labour Organization , the UN Women, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The participants are invited to share lessons learned and good practices that can be adapted and applied to different contexts. The event will also highlight multi-stakeholder and whole-of-society approaches that are effecting change, in line with the reinvigoration of multilateralism seen at the Summit of the Future 2024. Register to participate!

PUBLICATIONS: Why Women Earn Less: Gender Pay Gap and Labour Market Inequalities in East and Southern Africa (UN Women).and Women in Business: How Employer and Business Membership Organizations Drive Gender Equality (IOE-ACT/EMP).