Women earn 16% less than men - international pay equity report
3 March 2008, 7:30am
It's educated women who are experiencing the widest pay gap of all
Ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, a global study of sixty-three nations has revealed women across all industries and age groups are being paid on average 16% less than men.
ACTU President Sharan Burrow said the International Trade Union Confederation
(ITUC) Report on Pay Equity revealed the extent of discrimination women still
faced around the globe:
“In this day and age the gap is appalling. In reality it is probably even
wider than the figures suggest because developing countries don’t keep national
records, nor do hundreds of millions of women working in informal and
unprotected jobs appear in any records.
“While education is often touted as the key to closing the gap, the study
shows it’s educated women who are experiencing the widest pay gap of all with
their male counterparts,” said Ms Burrow.
The ACTU President says unions are working hard in Australia and in other
countries to bridge the pay divide by educating governments, employers and the
public. However it is collective bargaining which remains the best means of
closing the pay equity gap.
A copy of the report is available on request from the
ACTU.
