Today is the day when women effectively start working for free until the end of the year.
Yep. You are reading that correctly. Picture your boss walking into the office and announcing that all female employees won’t be paid again until January. But chin up, girls – you’re still a valued part of the team.
The gender pay gap means that men in full time work earn more than 14.2 per cent more than women, according to the latest figures from the UK. This means that, by the end of the year, women will have effectively worked nearly two months for free compared to men.
We all know that essentially, not being in possession of a penis makes you more likely to enjoy lower hourly earnings, fewer hours and lower employment rates in general. However, what might surprise you is the fact that at the current rate of progress it will take over 50 years to close the gap.
In Ireland, management and supervisory positions are overwhelmingly held by men. Less than three per cent of Irish CEOs are women. Meanwhile women spend more time than men on important unpaid tasks, such as household work and caring for children or relatives. Men spend nine hours per week on unpaid care and household activities, while working women spend 26 hours.
This eye-opening Oxfam calculator shows exactly how much men in the UK have earned relative to women from November 9 onwards until the end of 2016.
“There has never been a better opportunity to close the pay gap for good.” says Sam Smethers, chief executive of the women’s rights organisation The Fawcett Society. “Progress has stalled in recent years but with real commitment for government and employers, together with action from women and men at work, we could speed up progress towards the day when we can consign it to history,”
“It is time to have the conversation and ask your employer if they are ready for the new pay gap reporting requirements,” she said.
Are you happy to work for free from now until Christmas? Let us know on Twitter using #HerFamPay.
