15 March marked this year’s Equal Pay Day in the US — a symbolic day dedicated to raising awareness of gender pay disparity. The date symbolises how far into the year the average woman must work (in addition to their earnings last year) in order to match what the average man earnt in the previous year. The date differs year by year for example, in 2021, the date was 24 March.
In the US, women earn on average 82 cents for every dollar a man makes according to the US Bureau of Labour Statistics. Across the pond, women in the EU are paid 14.1% less than men — equal to almost two months’ salary whilst in Hong Kong, research conducted by Willis Tower Watson showed that women earn 11 per cent less on average than their male counterparts. The average wage gap for women also varies by demographic with women of colour, those with disabilities or single mothers needing more or less time to reach an equal pay date.
This year marks the earliest date in the days 25-year history, signifying that progress has been made towards achieving pay fairness (the earlier in the year the date falls, the narrower the gap.) Commendable as it is that progress has been made, there is still work to be done to bridge the gap to the extent that symbolic dates are no longer needed.
As the wage gap persists, employers, educators and policymakers need to work to close it. One such way is through pay transparency legislation which gives employees greater bargaining power. Private companies should also be transparent with their pay data and hold themselves accountable if deep pay disparities exist in their workplace.
It should be noted that the Equal Pay Date concept has yet to take off in Asia Pacific whether due to lack of awareness or for other reasons. Available data points to the existence of the gender pay gap but further research is needed to fully understand the bigger picture across the region.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
