Accounting giant, PricewaterhouseCoopers, published a report yesterday showing how the trend has surprisingly increased by two point four percent after ten years of narrowing.
In Cardiff City Centre, women gathered for a networking meeting to discuss business and issues surrounding gender inequality.
Kerrie Aldridge who is a mother and charity worker said: “The more we just put up with it the more it continues. As a mum of a little boy at school, I would want him to grow up in a time where it is about being the same and equal and that he is aware of equal rights.”
Jane Baker who is also a mother runs her own business and believes more should be done to tackle ineqaulity and make sure that women have equal pay: “I see women daily who I work with tend to put their beliefs then in front of them that they can’t do it because they aren’t valued as much as their male counterparts and they do even better jobs a lot of the time. There is a disparity that causes that problem for women so they lose their confidence. This gender pay gap should be better because there is a constant fight.”
According to the PwC report, it could take another 50 years for the pay gap to decrease again which is a worrying statistic and will have people questioning why it can’t get better.
International Women’s Day, an incredibly important day held annually on the 8th March, celebrates the social, political, economic, cultural and even personal achievements of women who live around the globe. It is a call to action for the recognition of equal gender contribution in society, and this call to action has been answered as worldwide groups unite to celebrate the achievements of women and reassemble to establish their equality. In striving for this equality and celebration, International Women’s Day is also enables people to fundraise and promote female-led/female-associated charities and organisations.
Cardiff council have announced that they will be celebrating the day by lighting Cardiff Castle purple tonight.
The celebrations and some equality shows that there is progress in certain areas, but yesterdays report highlights that a lot still needs to be done in order to achieve full equality.
Thank you for sharing this article about the ongoing issue of gender inequality and the gender pay gap. While there are positive steps being taken to address these issues through events like International Women’s Day and local celebrations, it is a reminder that there is still a long way to go in achieving full equality.
~ Vika