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

In this together: Share the Care, Transform Tomorrow

02.07.22

UN New York, HLPF - Join us on July 11th for a discussion on how #SharingTheCare at every level - family, community, governments and private sector - is vital for

Lire plus

An almost Perfect Mother – New Podcast series with Isabelle Roskam

26.04.22

We are delighted to be launching our new podcast series An almost Perfect Mother featuring Isabelle Roskam, professor of development and parenting psychology at the University of Louvain, Belgium. Isa

Lire plus

Prioritising SDG 5 Target 5.4 to recognize the work of mothers and advance all the SDGs

09.05.22

UN New York, HLPF - In the Sustainable Development Goals, Target 5.4 calls for the recognition, reduction and redistribution of unpaid family care work, i.e. the domestic and care work

Lire plus
See all the articlesof the category

Latest News from MMM and its Network

Help prepare your child for a happy, successful life
Emotional Intelligence videos for mothers and their families

31.03.23

Emotional intelligence is a vital skill that helps people build healthy and fulfilling relationships, maintain their mental health, make good decisions, and develop leadership skills. Unfortunately, emotional i

Read more

200 million hours spent by women and girls fetching water every day

23.03.23

UN New York - On the occasion of the World Water Day and the UN Water Conference, MMM highlights the impact of the lack of access to safe and clean water on women's unpaid care work. This is a key barrier to th

Read more

MMM calls for the recognition of Care as a human right

19.03.23

UN Geneva, Human Rights Council - Framing Care as a Human Right at the UN level - right to care, right to be cared for, right to self-care - would unequivocally put obligations on all governments to provide ade

Read more

Why Maternal Mental Health Matters

14.03.23

Make Mothers Matter submitted its contribution to the Call for Evidence of the EU Commission on Mental Health.

Read more

Like nature’s vital resources, unpaid care work must not be taken for granted

10.03.23

UN Geneva, Human Rights Council - The dialog following the presentation of the report Women, girls and the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment was the opportunity for MMM to reaffirm the urgen

Read more

Parents, key stakeholders for child rights in the digital environment

10.03.23

UN Geneva, Human Rights Council - At the annual day on the rights of the child, which focused on child rights in the digital environment, MMM reaffirmed the importance of considering parents as key stakeholders

Read more