10 things men can do on Equal Pay Day

Equal Pay Day is a national campaign led by the Fawcett Society in the UK. It marks the day where women effectively on average, stop earning relative to men because of the gender pay gap.

The gender pay gap is the difference between the average pay of men and women within a particular group or population. Fawcett uses the mean, full-time, hourly gender pay gap for the UK to calculate the gender pay gap for Equal Pay Day which this year is 11.9%, an increase from 10.6% last year.?

Here are 10 things men can DO today on Equal Pay Day AND every single day after that, to help close the gender pay gap. Please share this with your spouses, partners, brothers, uncles, co-workers, managers, leaders and sons.?

We know women in their mid-30s won’t achieve gender equality in their lifetimes. Yet, women have been demanding #equalpay since 1833. The coronavirus pandemic has hit women the hardest. In this crisis - and in every single crisis, it's women who disproportionately bear the brunt. Pay inequality is directly linked to racial inequality. Black women must be paid equally too. It takes Black women 8 extra months on average to earn what white men earn. End the Ethnicity Pay Gap.

How long will it take to close the pay gap if we do nothing about it?

Mark your calendars for 2157; the global gender gap is not expected to close for another 136 years. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased this time from 100 years. For Black and Hispanic women, the deadline is even further away.

Men - rather than doing something new just today, and thinking about equal pay today, why not start a new habit that you can reflect on by 18 Dec and again on 18 Nov 2022??

Here are TEN things men can do right now

1. Tell your women peers what you earn

Don’t wait to be asked. Share what you earn. Research shows that the majority (60%) of women in workplaces across the UK either don’t know what their male colleagues earn, or believe they are earning less than men who are doing the same job. Pay discrimination is thriving because we have a culture of pay secrecy in the UK and employers can get away with it because there is no transparency. At the moment, getting information about the pay of a male colleague doing equal work requires a lengthy court case — we cannot leave women guessing. Don’t wait to be asked. Tell them today.?

2. Even up the balance of professional and household work between you and your partner

Even before the pandemic, it was estimated women were doing about three-quarters of the 16 billion hours of unpaid work that are done each day around the world. 66% of girls and women aged between 14 and 24 said they spent more time cooking for their families as a result of the pandemic, compared with 31% of boys and men in the same age group. Do more laundry.

3. Talk to the women in your life about finances and investing

Women’s number one source of stress is money. The pandemic has exacerbated this.?A recent Ellevest Financial Wellness Survey found that money is making women literally sick. Nearly half of all women—and 61% of millennial women—report that worrying about money has caused them to be emotionally or mentally unwell. And 40% of all women—and half of millennial women—say that worrying about money has made them physically sick. Women are constantly gaslit by society when it comes to money - a recent study showed that 90% of articles on money written for women were about saving and budgeting. In contrast, 72% of articles targeted to men on money are about investing and growing their money. You can change the conversation in your living room, meeting room and at the school gates.

4. Ask your workplace about their paternity and maternity leave package

And then take paternity leave. Take-up of paternity leave has dropped to its lowest level in 10 years, with only a quarter of new dads choosing to take it. A recent report found that just 27% of eligible fathers took paternity leave. We know that paid family leave can help close the gender pay gap. For more on this follow Pregnant Then Screwed.

5. Ask your workplace about their flexible working policy

Half of the UK’s working mothers do not get the flexibility they ask for, while those that do work flexibly face discrimination, according to a survey. The survey of almost 13,000 mothers carried out by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the campaign group Mother Pukka found that one in two had a request for flexible working turned down or only partly accepted by their current employer. For more on this follow @motherpukka

Frances O’Grady, the TUC secretary-general, said

“The current system is broken. Employers still have free rein to turn down requests for flexible working. And women are too scared to ask for flexible working at job interviews, for fear of being discriminated against”

6. Write to your local MP about the “Right To Know” campaign

Many groups are pushing for a new Equal Pay Bill which would modernise the law on equal pay. The proposals would give women who suspect they are not getting equal pay the ‘Right to Know’ what a male colleague doing the same work is paid. This would give women the opportunity to resolve equal pay issues without having to go to court which would be a huge step forward. By giving women the right to know, the Equal Pay Bill would empower women who are being discriminated against at work to get the information they need to challenge this injustice. For more on this follow @fawcettsociety

7. Put salary bands on any job adverts

Diversity and bias are key issues in recruiting. But when you don't say what you are willing to pay in a job advert, you are being exclusive and continuing to perpetuate and widen the gender and ethnicity pay gaps. We made a website to make it super easy for you https://showthepay.com/

8. Support women-led financial businesses and products

Juno is offering bite-sized, engaging and expert financial education the women in your life always wanted, but never got. Ellevest is a robo-advisor investment platform and financial literacy program primarily for women. These are two of many brilliant companies and products that exist to help close the pay gap and wealth gap - they need funding, support and users. Get behind them.

9. Encourage the women in your life and work to negotiate?

20% of adult women (22 million people) say they never negotiate at all, even though they often recognise negotiation as appropriate and even necessary. 60% of women say they’ve never negotiated their salary—and many quit their job instead. It can take a huge amount of courage and negotiating strategy — so be an ally. Be a champion, cheerleader and ambassador. Talk to the women in your life about how *you* negotiate and encourage them to do the same.

10. Educate yourself on understanding what misogyny, sexism, racism, male violence, gender bias are and learn how these affect your decision-making

Google is your friend. If you don’t know where to start, start with Jackson Katz ; he’s internationally renowned for his pioneering scholarship and activism on issues of gender, race, and violence.

That’s it. Get to work.?

#equalpayday #endsalaryhistory #fawcettsociety

If you have enjoyed this article you'll love my weekly newsletter where I share 10 things I believe are worth sharing with you - they will give you new perspectives, hope and a reason to take action. Sign up today.