An obstacle course

For some months now, and with great force, the concepts of gender equality and gender pay gap have been in the media. Perhaps the demonstrations and actions of Hollywood actresses, joined by those of the rest of the Western world, have helped; or perhaps it is due to Icelandic legislation, which penalizes companies with a gender pay gap; or perhaps the commemoration of March 8, International Women's Day; or perhaps a greater awareness in society; or perhaps a combination of all of these, but this echo is producing a multiplying effect that time will tell if it is a mere mirage or if it will truly be a giant step towards true gender equality, always linked to equal opportunities and the beginning of the end of the gender pay gap.

More or less everyone knows what gender equality means or at least what it refers to; however, the gender pay gap is a newer term for the general public. What is the gender pay gap? Why does it exist? How is it quantified? How important is it? These are increasingly popular questions, and this current visibility could be a milestone in ending it.

Until the 19th century, with the proliferation of factories, women did not massively join the workforce; however, they received meager wages and worked in deplorable conditions.

In prehistory, when we were primitive, or in any case more so than now, women stayed at home caring for the home and men went out to hunt to provide food for the family. Thousands of years have passed and it wasn't until the 19th century, with the proliferation of factories, that women massively joined the workforce, albeit receiving meager wages and working in deplorable conditions. Little by little, during the first third of the 20th century, maliciously suitable jobs for women were created, such as receptionists, secretaries, nurses, teachers... and step by step, thanks to feminist movements, the need for women's incorporation into the educational field was promoted, and women who wanted to have higher education began to emerge, who were given access to liberal professions. After the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939, the role of women returned to a period of curtailed freedoms, where they had to ask permission from their father, or in their case their husband, to leave the country, to open a bank account and even to work. Likewise, there were professions forbidden to women, such as being a judge or notary, and it was common for women who worked when single to stop doing so when they got married. In addition, it was seen as a merit given that the husband alone could provide economic well-being for the family and the wife could take care of the home, and the role of excellent housewife and caregiver was socially exalted, as well as having a sweet, docile and submissive character. For this, it was not necessary to have many studies and in any case, if they had them, they could serve to find a husband.

Currently, we find more women than men with professional careers, but, curiously, political and economic positions of power are held by men.

The different remuneration for men and women with equal personal and professional characteristics is what is called direct discrimination, in which sex is the only difference that determines it. Fortunately, these situations, although they still exist, are becoming less frequent.

The application of apparently neutral criteria and practices that disadvantage women compared to men is what is called indirect discrimination.

Wage inequality is marked by a very different labor market insertion and career path between men and women, due to a wide range of obstacles that women encounter, such as the glass ceiling, roles and stereotypes assumed and internalized by society and, therefore, by women themselves, which place them in a lower rank than men in terms of professional and personal development.

Let's analyze some of these obstacles:

BELIEFS, ROLES AND STEREOTYPES

Roles and stereotypes begin to be instilled from childhood with toys, which already have a segregating role because they have certain colors, photos of boys or girls and refer to masculine or feminine as required (examples: construction and chemical sets for boys and kitchen and hairdressing sets for girls) in their advertisements, where they clearly refer to roles perfectly classified by the toys, as well as in parents' choice of the suitability of toys and games that are classified by sex and in which action and construction are highlighted as qualities of masculine games, and feminine games with doll care, hairdressing sets, kitchens and other niceties oriented to tasks qualified as properly feminine, and in promoting with phrases like "boys don't cry" or "girls don't fight," since these are behaviors considered masculine or feminine, to which strength and the denial of sensitivity are always assigned to boys and a restrained and docile attitude is exalted for girls. It would be unforgivable to forget fairy tales, where the bravery of the savior hero and the beauty and docility of the heroine are extolled.

There are attitudes that are considered positive in men but negative in women. Examples:

In short, and despite the recognized incorporation of women into the public sphere and paid work, the sexual division of labor and the underestimation of traditionally feminine roles and values persist.

A transversal education with an equality approach, where it is not assumed that women cannot excel in technical professions requiring talent in mathematics and physics, as well as a rectification in many TV programs and advertisements that objectify women, will undoubtedly help break these beliefs and stereotypes, which in the worst cases make women victims of physical and psychological violence.

HORIZONTAL SEGREGATION

These beliefs, roles, and stereotypes have been passed down throughout history from parents to children and have assigned women the role of caregivers for the family and individuals; and men, that of leaders, managers, and communicators. As a consequence, we find ourselves in the labor market with horizontal segregation, meaning women are concentrated in jobs characterized by lower remuneration and social value, which are, to a large extent, an extension of activities that have been socially and traditionally assigned to each sex.

Thus, there are jobs considered feminized, such as personal care and attention services, and administrative roles, which are undervalued and, therefore, have low salaries compared to jobs of similar value that, being considered masculinized, experience exactly the opposite.

In Catalonia, women account for 77.5% of the employed population in health and social services, around 70% in cultural, sports, and other services activities, and 66.2% in retail trade.

WORK-LIFE BALANCE

It is another of the factors that increase inequality in the workplace, given that traditionally and currently women are the ones who dedicate themselves to a greater and often exclusive extent to household chores and the care of children or dependent family members, and are forced to adopt reconciliation measures that promote less labor participation, such as taking leave, extended leave, and part-time work, thus interrupting their professional career and directly influencing the wage gap, the lesser opportunity for promotion and occupation of management positions, and the perception of lower pensions.

Women continue to enter the labor market to a lesser extent and with a lower labor activity rate than men, but they still constitute the majority of the unemployed population.

True reconciliation comes hand in hand with co-responsibility, where family work is equitable for men and women. It is not trivial to say that many men are increasingly aware of this, especially in childcare. Likewise, shared custody in divorces imposes equal care; however, the horizon still seems distant.

While some progress and participation in childcare is being seen among men, many of them due to divorces involving shared custody, the same progression is not seen in the care of the elderly, and women are responsible for performing these tasks.

PART-TIME WORK

If we add up paid and unpaid work hours (domestic work and family care), the result is a very long working day, longer than that of men, even though men remain longer in their workplace and women are predominantly those with part-time contracts. According to ADECA data (4th quarter of 2016), seven out of ten part-time contracts are signed by women.

A significant part of the gender pay gap is explained by the different working hours, but not entirely.

GLASS CEILING: VERTICAL SEGMENTATION

Women, in addition to predominantly holding lower-skilled jobs, also have less access to positions of greater responsibility and are underrepresented in the highest salary levels. This is due to the so-called glass ceiling, formed by the invisible barriers that women encounter when making their way in their professional careers and being promoted to positions of greater responsibility.

A study conducted by Grant Thornton on the presence of women in business management shows stagnation.

Although women, as we have already mentioned, outnumber men with university studies, this does not have a direct relationship with their occupations in management positions.

A study conducted by the Association of Federations and Associations of Businesswomen of the Mediterranean (AFAEMME) on the benefits of having women in management positions concludes with seven benefits for companies, which are the following:

• Better quality of decision-making
• Better corporate governance
• Market mirror
• Higher growth rate
• Greater productivity
• Lower risk-taking
• Greater ethics and better reputation

SALARY SUPPLEMENTS

Salary supplements are one of the major components of the gender pay gap, although it is a minor component of the salary.

Salary supplements are often granted under discretionary criteria and in their great majority favor men to the detriment of women. Likewise, on other occasions, aspects such as night work, permanence, physical effort, time availability... clearly "masculinized" aspects, are rewarded, and "feminized" aspects such as precision, resistance, and a long etcetera are not taken into account.