Beijing+25 – MMM highlights Motherhood wage gap in discussions on Gender Pay Gap

31.10.19

UN Geneva, Beijing+25 UNECE Regional Review - MMM seized the opportunity to speak at the session on the Gender Pay Gap of the intergovernmental meeting to draw attention to the linkages between motherhood and the Gender Pay Gap.

As part of the session on “Closing the gender gaps: Effective economic and social policies in the UN ECE region”, a panel focussed more specifically on the Gender Pay Gap, the reasons that explain its
persistence and the different policy approaches to close it.

The average hourly Gender Pay Gap remains high at 18% in the region, with large variations across countries – e.g. up to 62.4% in Kyrgyzstan. High Gender Pay Gaps also translate into even higher pension gaps in most countries – for example, 53% in Germany in 2017.

Most of the discussions focussed on the necessary legislative framework, and policies like the mandatory reporting that several countries have started to implement, including France, Switzerland and the UK. The law recently adopted in Iceland that makes external certification mandatory for employers was also hailed as a major step forward. But no one even mentioned the motherhood pay gap.

MMM representative Valerie Bichelmeier, therefore, took the floor following the delivery of the statement of the Women’s Major Group.

A 2016 IILO report clearly shows that wage gaps exist not only between men and women, but also between mothers and women who do not have children.

This Motherhood wage gap is significant to the gender pay-gap issue because studies found that employed mothers are the women that account for most of the gender wage gap. Research shows that hourly wages of mothers are approximately 5% lower (per child) than the wages of women without children.

It has been suggested that mothers earn less than women without children because they are less productive. In fact, they are penalized for going on maternity leave, for possibly not putting in as much ‘face time’ at work as their childless peers, for having to turn down jobs that require overtime, and for daring to ask for part-time work. They are simply victims of the perception/stereotype that women with children are not as much ‘into’ their jobs as others, because they are distracted by the caring and nurturing requirements of their households

To conclude its statement, MMM called on governments

  • to recognize that women suffer specific discriminations linked to motherhood (the “motherhood penalty”)
  • collect data on the motherhood wage gap
  • and take it into account when addressing the Gender Pay Gap.

 

See also Beijing+25: #FeministsWantSystemChanges – Mothers too

 

 

Most read articles

Leave no single mother Behind: solutions from across the world

05.02.23

UN New York, CSocD61 - The virtual event we are organizing as part of the 2023 UN Commission on Social Development will draw attention to the specificity of the situation

Lire plus

Women at the peace table: international Conference

14.04.23

Make Mothers Matter, together with the city of Ypres, and its grass roots partners Mothers for Peace, Mama Kivu and the Vrouwenraad, is organizing an international peace Conference Women at

Lire plus

Making the case for Gender Equal Parenting: Vital for Early Childhood Development and a transformative tomorrow

04.10.22

At MMM, we believe that sharing the invisible work of caring and educating children more equitably is a quadruple win: essential for early child development (ECD), beneficial for both men

Lire plus
See all the articlesof the category

Latest News from MMM and its Network

Parents key allies in the fight against child cyberbullying

29.09.23

UN Geneva, Human Rights Council - One in three children are affected by cyberbullying, a scourge that negatively affects their mental, physical and emotional wellbeing, their health, their education, and that t

Read more

Universal Social Protection a must for parents, children and the future

22.09.23

UN Geneva, Human Rights Council - MMM supports the OHCHR's views and recommendations on the Rights of the child and inclusive social protection presented to the Council. Our oral statement stresses in particula

Read more

Care central to the realisation of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

21.09.23

UN Geneva, Human Rights Council - As OHCHR seeks to reinforce its work on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, MMM highlights the centrality of Care to the realisation of these rights, in particular the unpaid

Read more

Care experts agree: redistribution key to achieving Gender Equality

17.09.23

Redistributing care work was a central topic at a wide-ranging discussion recently hosted by Harvard Kennedy School Women’s Network and the Women 20 (W20) organization.

Read more

Mothers at the forefront of achieving the SDGs

13.09.23

18-19 September 2023 sees the convening of the SDG Summit taking place at the UN Headquarters in New York. Here at MMM, we believe it is time to re-commit and put mothers at the centre of our efforts to realize

Read more

Addressing SDGs 3&4 through Emotional Intelligence

08.09.23

On the eve of the SDG Summit 2030, we at Make Mothers Matter draw attention to the topic of Emotional intelligence, often overlooked in educational systems, which we believe is essential for healthy relationshi

Read more