The cost of being a woman

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Women in Pakistan are remunerated far less than men for doing the same job — not because they're short on education, skills or experience but solely because they're women. A new report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) affirms what women here already know: the country has one of the largest gender pay gaps in the world with women earning on average 25% less per hour and 30% less per month compared to men. That means for every Rs1,000 a man makes, a woman — if she's lucky — scrapes by with Rs700. Imagine running the same race but women start 300 meters behind every time.

To put things into perspective, Sri Lanka's gender pay gap (GPG) is 22%, Nepal's is 18% and Bangladesh, surprisingly, has defied the trend with women making slightly more than men while Pakistan continues to trail behind. The numbers indicate that things are moving forward — albeit at a sluggish rate — as the pay gap which was 33% in 2018 has now narrowed to 30%. But at this pace, are we supposed to wait decades for equality to finally happen?

What makes this GPG even more exasperating is that it's not about education, experience or capability. The report unveils that most of the gap has no excusable reason; in plain terms, this means discrimination - two colleagues, the same job but one takes home less merely for being a woman.

If paying women unfairly was ever ethically justifiable, Khadijah (RA), a successful businesswoman of her time, would've done so. But history tells us she treated her workers fairly and set a benchmark for equal pay, no matter their gender. Employers here shortchange women due to deep-seated biases, workplace norms that write off female labour, weak enforcement of wage equality laws and a lack of accountability.

In the formal sector, where laws have some teeth, the GPG narrows; it's even lower in the public sector where salaries follow a set structure. Undoubtedly, the gap shrinks when there's oversight. But in informal jobs, domestic work and agricultural labour — where employers take advantage of unprotected workers, especially women — the gap stretches even wider, exceeding 40%. Take for instance home-based garment workers who stitch the same shirts sold in high-end stores but their earnings are a fraction of what men in similar roles make.

This isn't just a women's issue; it's a social, economic and humanitarian issue. Paying women fairly translates to more spending power, greater financial independence, improved child welfare and, ultimately, stronger families and a stronger economy.

Pakistan is a signatory to international agreements like the ILO's Equal Remuneration Convention and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). We claim to believe in equal pay for equal work on paper but in reality, there's no real push to level the playing field.

Laws exist, but what's missing is implementation, what's missing is accountability and what's still missing is the will to change a system that benefits men at women's expense. But this isn't an unsolvable problem; labour inspections, diversity training, anti-discrimination oversight and pay transparency laws are key to workplace equity.

If companies were pushed — through tax breaks, grants and public accolades — to ensure equal pay and safer workplaces, the change wouldn't take decades; it could happen now. Until the system changes, women in Pakistan will continue paying a penalty — not for being less competent but for simply being women.