According to the US Department of Commerce Bureau of Census in 2006, a male holding a Doctorate’s degree is estimated to earn approximately TWICE as much as a female that holds the same degree. Want to know something even more shocking? A male with no educational degree at all is estimated to earn almost as much as a female with a Master’s degree annually.
If these statistics are taken from the United States, the country that everyone supposedly looks up to as the essence and exemplar of freedom and civilization, the statistics gathered from the Middle East are beyond depressing.
The World Economic Forum put the gender wage gap between males and females in the Middle East and North Africa between a deplorable 20-40%. According to a list conducted by the BBC in 2015 regarding the “Bottom 10 countries with gender inequality”, Jordan came in 6th place followed by Lebanon in the 8th place and Egypt in 10th.
“$713,000. That’s the amount of money the gender pay gap adds up to over a 40-year career. In other words, over 40 years, women make nearly three-quarters of a million dollars less than their male counterparts,” the report stated.
While it’s true that the number of women in the work field in the Arab world is not equal to the number of men, there is no denying that the number of females going to work today in the Arab world is at its highest, so why are these women not getting paid equally to their male colleagues?
When a male and a female both have the same degree, work in similar positions, have the same work hours and put in equal effort, why is it acceptable that one earns double the money that the other makes?
These examples don’t only apply on a social level and in normal workplaces, but their consequences have been noticed internationally and in all work fields. For example, in 2003, if the US women’s soccer team would’ve won the World Cup, the entire team would’ve won $58,000. On the other hand, when the US men’s national soccer team got to the quarterfinals of the World Cup, each player received $200,000.
Where is the justice when $58,000 is divided amongst an entire team of women while each male player pockets a hefty $200,000 just for reaching the quarterfinals? Sure, women are underrepresented in professional sports, overlooked and disregarded as the world has just started to wrap their head around women playing sports professionally, but that still doesn’t justify how horrifyingly underpaid they are, especially in such an “advanced” country as the United States.
During a United Nations Women panel at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, actress Selma Hayek said, “The only kind of movie where women make more than men is the porno industry.” Take a moment to let that fact sink in.
If you’re not banging your head against the wall or giving yourself multiple face palms, then you should seriously be worried if this piece of information doesn’t disturb you. When the porn industry becomes one of the only areas where a woman is not underpaid, there are serious issues we need to address immediately. The only industry where a woman gets paid appropriately is an industry that was primarily created to please and gratify men. Not only is this offending as well as appalling, it’s absolutely absurd. The only work field where a woman’s work is appreciated and where a woman would get paid equitably is because she works for an industry that mainly reaps its income of off the pleasure of men.
Upon further research, I happened to come across yet another ridiculous piece of information: “Even In Nursing, Men Earn More Than Women”. You may ask why this is ridiculous, as nursing shouldn’t be a “gendered” job where women earn more than men, and while I fully agree, I find it simply shocking. Nursing is a profession where women outnumber men by a ratio of 10:1, yet when a male decides to pursue this profession he automatically earns more than his fellow female colleagues. In whose book is this fair?!
Many experts over the years put the blame on women because statistically, women are “less likely to ask for pay rises” and are seen as demanding when they do so. Another study of MBA students found that half of the men negotiated their job offers, whereas only one-eighth of the women did.
We live in the 21st century, it’s 2015 and right now, it’s safe to say that a good number of our workforce consists of women. Women are contributing and bringing in millions to our economy on a daily basis. So why should women be embarrassed or hesitant to ask for a pay raise? As a female your contribution to the workplace is much more significant than you think it is, and it’s certainly way more valuable than your employer would want you to know (oops!)
So ladies, know your true worth, acknowledge your value and go ask for that pay raise. girl.
WE SAID THIS: Don’t miss Ladies, Don’t Be Afraid To Take Charge.