You've probably heard a hell of a lot of gender inequality and gender pay gap issues going around in the news recently. Companies like BBC owe hundreds of female staff thousands of pounds to close their gender pay gap. Sarah Montague, BBC radio 4's presenter, earned £150,000 compared to her male colleague John Humphrys who earned £600,000-£649,999 last year. The reason? Who the hell knows?!

These issues don't just have an impact on our mental wellbeing, but also the economy.

We want to outline the importance of achieving gender equality. It will benefit both men and women, so yes, men, this is your problem too. Help us to help you.

Here are some pretty interesting facts on how gender equality can boost the economy:

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If we improved gender equality by 2050, GDP per capita (a measure of a country's economic performance) would increase by 6.1% to 6.9%, in money terms, that's €1.95 to €3.15 trillion!

Achieving gender equality by 2050 could lead to 10.5 million jobs in the EU, that's an 80% increase in employment rates!

Women are more likely to be affected by poverty due to lower employment rates and lower salaries, in fact women make up 62% of those earning less than the minimum wage. Gender equality can reduce the risk of women in poverty by providing more work opportunities for them.

In the UK, the gross hourly wage gap between men and women exceeds 20%, even if women are educated to the same level as their male peers. 

In April 2017, men earned 17% more than women.

If women are paid more, poverty is more likely to decrease, the gender pay gap in pensions will reduce and women will feel more confident knowing that there are opportunities to progress.

Unfortunately it's not just as simple as increasing women's salaries. If salaries are increased, companies may need to reduce their demand for labour to reduce costs, meaning less jobs.

I can understand why the gender pay gap can be a tricky issue to overcome, but if I'm being honest, it never should have been an issue in the first place. 

The Equality Human and Rights Commission also found that 1 in 9 new mothers are either made redundant, dismissed or mistreated, leading these women to leave their job.

It's pretty obvious that women need more support in the workplace if they have children, especially as childcare is so expensive. Having a child should not be a hindrance on a women's career progression, it's almost as if women are financially punished if they have a child.

 

Even though more working-age women have degrees compared to men (28% compared to 25% in 2015), men are still more likely to be employed and be paid more. If more women are encouraged to enrol in STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, maths) which are depicted as 'manly' subjects and are better paid, there will be more opportunities for women to earn a higher salary. 

If companies can choose from a wider pool of STEM graduates, which includes men and women, it will help to narrow the skills gap and improve the productivity not only these companies, but of the economy as well.

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Rani & Co. shows feminism in a positive light and in a non-aggressive way. Feminism is a positive movement encouraging society to move towards the equality of the sexes. We hope this article is an example of how powerful gender equality can benefit all of us.

What are your thoughts? Let's discuss in the comment box below.

Lots of love,

Ramona

xxx

Founder of Rani & Co.