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Hey everyone,
I wanted to start a conversation today since it's International Equal Pay Day (September 18). This day is meant to highlight the ongoing issue of the gender pay gap — and no, it’s still not just a myth, even in 2025.
The whole idea behind this day is that it marks how far into the current year women must work to earn what men earned by the end of the previous year. In other words, many women are essentially working “for free” for months just to catch up. That’s a problem.
Globally, women earn on average 77 cents for every dollar earned by men. The numbers are worse when you factor in race, disability, or migration status. So when we talk about equal pay, we’re not just talking about someone being underpaid for the same job (although that still happens). The issue is much deeper and structural.
Women are overrepresented in lower-paid jobs, especially in sectors like care, education, and domestic work — roles that are essential, yet often undervalued. On top of that, unpaid labor like caregiving still falls mostly on women, and there's a real lack of support for things like paid parental leave, affordable childcare, or flexible work.
Also, there's a difference between equal pay and pay equity that doesn’t get talked about enough. Equal pay means same pay for the same work. Pay equity means fair pay for work of equal value — even if it’s not the same job. For example, why does a male-dominated field like IT typically pay more than caregiving or early childhood education, even though both require skill and dedication?
What’s more frustrating is that many countries do have laws on equal pay — but enforcement is often weak, and wage transparency is rare. Without accountability, progress stays slow.
Why should we care? Besides the obvious fairness issue, the economic impact is massive. The IMF has reported that closing gender gaps could increase some countries' GDP by more than 30%. This is not just a gender issue — it’s an economic one too.
So here are a few questions I’d love to hear your thoughts on:
Would love to hear your insights and experiences — especially from people working in HR, education, finance, or caregiving roles. Let’s use this day to not just raise awareness, but share ideas and push for real change.
I wanted to start a conversation today since it's International Equal Pay Day (September 18). This day is meant to highlight the ongoing issue of the gender pay gap — and no, it’s still not just a myth, even in 2025.
The whole idea behind this day is that it marks how far into the current year women must work to earn what men earned by the end of the previous year. In other words, many women are essentially working “for free” for months just to catch up. That’s a problem.
Globally, women earn on average 77 cents for every dollar earned by men. The numbers are worse when you factor in race, disability, or migration status. So when we talk about equal pay, we’re not just talking about someone being underpaid for the same job (although that still happens). The issue is much deeper and structural.
Women are overrepresented in lower-paid jobs, especially in sectors like care, education, and domestic work — roles that are essential, yet often undervalued. On top of that, unpaid labor like caregiving still falls mostly on women, and there's a real lack of support for things like paid parental leave, affordable childcare, or flexible work.
Also, there's a difference between equal pay and pay equity that doesn’t get talked about enough. Equal pay means same pay for the same work. Pay equity means fair pay for work of equal value — even if it’s not the same job. For example, why does a male-dominated field like IT typically pay more than caregiving or early childhood education, even though both require skill and dedication?
What’s more frustrating is that many countries do have laws on equal pay — but enforcement is often weak, and wage transparency is rare. Without accountability, progress stays slow.
Why should we care? Besides the obvious fairness issue, the economic impact is massive. The IMF has reported that closing gender gaps could increase some countries' GDP by more than 30%. This is not just a gender issue — it’s an economic one too.
So here are a few questions I’d love to hear your thoughts on:
- Have you personally experienced or witnessed pay inequality?
- Does your workplace have wage transparency or equity audits?
- What do you think actually works when it comes to closing the pay gap?
- And finally, do you think enough people even know what Equal Pay Day is?
Would love to hear your insights and experiences — especially from people working in HR, education, finance, or caregiving roles. Let’s use this day to not just raise awareness, but share ideas and push for real change.
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