In the UK, Equal Pay Day falls on the 20th November this year. This is the day women, on average, stop earning relative to men. Whilst the 20th November marks a reduction in the Gender Pay Gap from last year, such a reduction is derived in part from the lack of comprehensive data available this year due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Moreover, even if that reduction were the result of tangible change, it is evident that we still have a long way to go to achieve any semblance of actual parity.
THE GENDER PAY GAP
The Gender Pay Gap is the difference between the average pay men receive and the average pay women receive within a particular group of the population. Full-time male workers, for example, earn 11.5% more than full-time female workers.
It is important to caveat the disadvantages of the Gender Pay Gap before embarking on a discussion of why it still exists. The Gender Pay Gap is merely a surface level snapshot of economic inequality. Whilst women earn, on average, less than men, it is also true that women from an ethnic minority background are paid, on average, less than White women. In the United States, Black women are paid approximately 38% less than White men, and 21% less than White women. It is therefore crucial to recognise that whilst the Gender Pay Gap is important, economic inequality is predicated upon social dynamics that extend far beyond just gender. Indeed, the ‘average women’ is in no way an all-encompassing representation of individual women’s experiences.
WHY THE GENDER PAY GAP CONTINUES TO EXIST
Pay discrimination describes when women are paid less than men for doing work of equal value. It is this form of discrimination which is often mistakenly perceived to be at the heart of the Gender Pay Gap. The reality is women and men receiving equal pay for equal work is no longer widely contested and has in fact been enshrined in legislation; in the UK, the notion is reflected in the Equality Act 2010.
That the Gender Pay Gap persists despite this legislation signals that more pervasive issues are play than just overt pay discrimination. One of the key issues is the continued association of women with domesticity and the equation of biology with destiny. That such an interconnection is a continuing problem was evidenced by a 2016 European Commission report in which half of respondents - both male and female – still believed that men were simply less competent at domestic duties than women.
It is therefore of no surprise that regulation relating to paid work perpetuates this stereotype. Parents in the UK do have a right to shared parental leave. However, the default position is still that women will take the full maternity leave. If a heterosexual couple decide that the father should take paternity leave, then the mother will give up some of her maternity leave and transfer this to the father – the right only exists through the medium of the mother as the primary caregiver.
Moreover, in a society where the value of a worker is determined by the hours committed to their jobs, the presumption that women will take maternity leave – compared to their male colleagues for whom it is only a possibility - makes them appear less reliable than their male counterparts. This perception of unreliability means women will often not advance up the career ladder at the same rate as men. The resulting pay disparity then means it makes economic sense for women to be the primary carer, because her partner will most likely be making more money than her. This, inter alia, is what causes the Gender Pay Gap.
POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS
Whilst the association of women with domesticity is not the only issue, it is perhaps one of the most fundamental; if employers saw women and men as equally likely to take time off to care for a child, the perception of unreliability that often plagues women in the workplace would be critically undermined. If we are to have any hope of eradicating the Gender Pay Gap, we must first dismantle the stereotype of the female caregiver.
Bethany is a law student with a keen interest in human rights, especially as relating to women and intersectionality. Having just completed her law degree at the University of Bristol, she will begin the LPC in September before embarking on a training contract in late 2021.