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#MeTooPay is looking for gender pay equality

It is 2019 and women are still getting less money for doing the same work as men. According to data compiled by the Office for National Statistics, there is still a 13.1% gap between men and women’s hourly pay. 

Woman browsing on the internet.

Woman browsing on the internet. / Photo: Unsplash – Reference image

The Woman Post | Luisa Fernanda Báez Toro

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Leer en español: #MeTooPay busca la igualdad salarial de género

And even if that does not mean that employers are cutting salaries because of gender, it reveals a sad reality: women don't have the same conditions as male colleagues. 

According to iNews, there are several studies that show the injustices that women face in the workpkace: they are less likely to be hired, to advance to the top or to keep their jobs after having kids. For example, McKinsey & Company, a global consultor, shows that firms with better gender diversity are 21 percent more likely to be more profitable.

Actually, November 14 marked Equal Pay Day: the day of the year when women start to work for free. The day is dedicated to raising awareness of the gender pay gap.

Also read. US economy to expand, but at a slower pace

A good first step to tackle this problem would be promoting women to senior roles. The Fawcett Society launched a campaign earlier this week to call for laws that enforce transparency on male colleagues' salaries. The Right To Know campaign created #MeTooPay, which is being used by women to share their stories on pay gap. 

As read on Metro, after doing a survey with 1000 women, the group revealed that three out of five believe they are being paid less for the same job but don’t know what their male colleagues earn. Fawcett Society chief executive Sam Smethers said, as read on Personnel Today, that "equal pay for equal work is still a distant dream for many women. Pay secrecy means women cannot know if they are being paid equally". 

"This is why we are calling for a change in the law. Women need an enforceable ‘Right to Know’ how much their colleagues earn so that they can challenge unequal pay" she continued and then invited men to help just by being honest about their salaries.

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