There’s no such things as a ‘Happy Equal Pay Day’ at least not until Equal Pay Day falls on 1 July, the beginning of the new financial year.
You see Equal Pay Day is today, September 5, in order to represent the additional number of days women need to work past the end of the finical year. With our current gender pay gap now at 18.2%, the average full-time working woman has to work an extra 66 days in order to take home a salary that’s equivalent to the average full-time working man.
So we’re not ‘celebrating’ Equal Pay Day here on Women’s Agenda. We won’t be sitting around eating cake (well, we might do that, but it will be for other reasons) and we won’t be hitting the town later on this evening for a few drinks we can afford to have even less than the men sitting in the same drinking establishment.
Because that 18.2% actually hurts a lot of women. Accounting for an average $283.20 a week and more than $14,500 a year, it’s a figure that perpetuates inequality. It sees women retire with significantly less savings than men, women opting out of the workforce and a lopsided economy that leaves certain professions significantly undervalued.
‘Happy’ is not yet a word we can apply to ‘Equal Pay Day’. A better word would be ‘everywhere’.
When I dropped my son at childcare this morning, I didn’t see much to celebrate in the fact his excellent educators won’t be taking home an excellent paycheque to match — simply because they happen to be working in ‘feminised’ industries (where they’re still paid on average less than the men in those same industries anyway).
When I saw a couple of ambitious-looking university students on the train, I expressed some regret for the fact the optimism they have for their earning potential now will be diminished over the years as they realise the gender pay gap starts as early as their first year in a graduate position.
When I later walked through Sydney’s Martin Place, the hub of our largest professional and financial services firms, I didn’t see much to celebrate in the fact the men I walked past have an average extra 18.2% in their pockets — especially those men who work in finance where the gender pay gap is even more pronounced (30%).
And as I ordered a coffee, I can’t say that I appreciated the fact the guy in the line in front of me was probably earning significantly more than the woman in the line behind me. Or me, in between them both, for that matter.
The gender pay gap is everywhere. It’s in childcare centres, on public transport, in cafes, on the street and within your own office. It’s a badge each and every one of us wears in different ways. It hurts some more than others, but nonetheless reflects systemic inequality that’s so well engrained, so much a part of our system, and so much a part of being a ‘woman’ or a ‘man’ that we can throw out simple excuses and explanations for why it exists.
It’s because women choose to work in industries that pay less — like childcare, teaching and nursing.
It’s because women choose to take career breaks and pursue flexible work — and therefore it’s only fair that those who choose to work full-time during such periods — usually men — increase their earning capacity at the same time.
It’s because women don’t put their hand up for the leadership positions, the bonuses and the pay rises. Women don’t negotiation. They don’t lean in. They don’t put their hand up. They opt out.
None of these excuses are acceptable. They’re all explanations for why the gender pay gap exists, but not reasons for why it should exist.
We’ll celebrate Equal Pay Day when it finally falls on July 1— the beginning of the financial year when we’ll be able to say women no longer have to work any extra days in order to earn the same as men.
Want to know what you could buy with the gender pay gap? Click the picture above to find out.