Economic inequality is caused by pay inequity, the absence of equal reproductive rights and child care support, social biases about women in leadership, and much more. And this economic disparity has a price tag – it takes a toll on families, children, and our economy. If women had the same lifetime earnings as men, global wealth would increase by $23,620 per person, on average, in 141 countries. That means everyone – men too! – benefits from women’s pay equity. This shouldn’t be so hard – it is something we can change.
Economic equality is arguably THE foundation of equality. Without economic equality, women remain dependent: at home, at work, and in public life.
Achieving this requires action on many levels: government policies to support parenting; changed attitudes toward unpaid care work (which falls overwhelmingly on women); company policies that protect true equal opportunity in pay and advancement; higher wages in the highly feminized professions (teaching, nursing); investments in companies that support gender equality, and more. Understanding these issues means we can take concrete steps to changing them.
We educate and engage people to make changes. We provide them with the economic information they need. We empower them to demand pay transparency, to support businesses that have gender-aware policies, and to invest their savings in companies that have gender-equitable practices. And we help them understand the unconscious biases we all carry around.
