Economic and Financial Committee

Background Guide Topic:

Eliminating the Gender Pay Gap_____________________________________________​

Director's Note
Dear Delegates,
Thank you so much for applying for the Japan Metropolitan Model United Nations.
My name is Rinka Sasaki and I will be the Director for the Economic and Financial Affairs
Council. This year, we will be discussing matters on eliminating the gender pay gap, andhopefully gain knowledge on the process of the conference as well. I am currently enrolled asa first-year student at Senzoku Gakuen High School, and have lived in the US for two yearsof my life. Having participated in a MUN conference in New York and having chaired the
beginner conference in last year’s JMMUN, I am excited to be on this platform again to
direct this conference. I am looking forward to hearing each delegate’s ideas and seeing each
representative’s original and thoughtful ideas on this year’s topic.
My experience in MUN started four years ago when I joined the MUN club in myfirst year at this school. I participated in some meetings at our school, but did not understandmost of what was happening. I eventually began to feel scared about participating in MUN
meetings, and was not an active participant in the latter half of my first year.
The JMMUN conference I participated in my second year helped me recognize thejoy of doing MUN. I learned that MUN conferences are a place to express yourself in front ofothers while considering your country’s stance. I am hoping that this conference will be an
opportunity for you to recognize this as well. We all know that making a speech to present infront of others in English can be difficult. However, doing in-depth research on yourcountry’s stance, keeping up with the news, and preparing a few speeches beforehand canhelp build your confidence. I wish for delegates to challenge themselves and make this year’s
conference meaningful.
The topic we chose for this year is a topic all of you may have heard of at least once
before. Therefore, we are expecting in-depth discussions and resolutions on the gender pay
gap. Each nation holds different backgrounds to this topic; the key to finding the right bloc is
to look at them and find the resolution your country seeks.
Lastly, I am looking forward to an active conference with unique and logical ideas
from all delegates. MUN has taught me so many useful skills such as public speaking skills,
logical thinking skills, research skills, the ability to look at an issue from diverse

perspectives, and the importance of being connected with people from all over the world. I
hope delegates will achieve these skills and much more in this conference.
Sincerely,

Rinka Sasaki
Director, Economic and Financial Committee
Japan Metropolitan Model United Nations

in the labor force also has room for

Introduction

improvement, as women’s labor force
In 2015, countries adopted theUnitedNations’

Development

2030

AgendaSustainable
and

its

17

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The gender pay gap is included in Goal 5.
Gender Equality, Goal 8. Decent Workand Economic Growth, and Goal 10.
Reduced Inequalities.
The United Nations (UN) believes
that eliminating the gender pay gap would
contribute to the creation of a sustainable
future for all people. In Goal 5, the UN
states that “gender equality is not only afundamental human right, but a necessary
foundation for a peaceful, prosperous, andsustainable world.”1
In Goal 8, the UN recognizes that
there are yet many barriers existing ineliminating the gender pay gap. In 40 outof 45 countries with data, men earn 12.5%
more wage than women, according to theUN.2 Furthermore, while women havebeen increasing their public presence
worldwide,“women continue to do 2.6

times the unpaid care and domestic workthat men do.”3 Women’s participation rate

1

The United Nations, “Goal 5: Achieve genderequality and empower all women and girls” 2019,https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/gender-equality/​ Accessed 12 Aug. 2019.
2
The United Nations, “Promote inclusive andsustainable economic growth, employment anddecent work for all” 2019,https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/econo
mic-growth/​ Accessed 12 Aug. 2019.
3
ibid.

participation rate is 63%, while men’slabor force participation rate is 94%.4
Currently, the gender pay gap is 23%
globally. The UN estimates that without
further action, it will take another 68 years
to achieve equal pay.
In Goal 10, the UN recognizes that
inequality within households is one major
factor of the gender pay gap. The UN
states that up to 30% of income inequality
between genders is due to an inequality
within households.5 As for some examples
that

delegations

shouldconsiderimplementing in their resolutions, the UN
has implemented specific goals such as
Goal 10.2 - “By 2030, empower andpromote the social, economic and politicalinclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex,
disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion
or economic or other status”6 - and Goal
10.3 - “Ensure equal opportunity andreduce inequalities of outcome, includingbyeliminating

discriminatory

laws,

policies and practices and promoting
appropriate legislation, policies and actionin this regard.” 7
Taking

these

goals

into

consideration, delegations are required to

4

ibid.
The United Nations, “Goal 10: Reduce inequality
within and among countries​”​ 2019​,
https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/inequality/​ Accessed 12 Aug. 2019.
6
ibid.
7
ibid.
5

research the current situation of the gender

poverty and economic strain, in order topay gap in their nation in order to tackle

boost economic growth.8

this global issue. The chairs would like toremind delegates that this conference is

Key Terms and Concepts

held for discussing on every other aspect
involved with the gender pay gap: religion,
culture,education,

informal/formal

sectors, promotion, motherhood, etc. Thisconference aims at the elimination of thegender pay gap, and would like to apply abroad perspective in order to tackle thisissue.

Gender Pay Gap“​the difference between medianearnings of men and women relative tomedian earnings of men”9Informal Sector
Anillegalactivity

where

an

individual earns without income tax orHistory of the Committee

work without pay. Furthermore, it includes
legal activities that are rewarded with

The

Economic

andFinancialCommittee(ECOFIN)wasofficiallysomething other than money.10

established in 1945. It is the second

MEDC and LEDC

committee established out of the six

“LEDC

(Less

Country)

Economicallycommittees of the United Nations General

Developed

sectorAssembly. The first meeting was held incountries with a lower GDP and a lower

San Francisco in 1945. ECOFIN is open to

standard of living than MEDC (Moreall nations in the United Nations General

Economically

Assembly and currently consists of 193

countries. Indicators used to classify

Developed

includesCountry)nations in total. ECOFIN has financiallyandtechnologicallysupportedmanydeveloping countries by giving financial
aid and opportunities to prosper for every
nation. In times of crisis or times ofdevelopment, ECOFIN supports nations
that hold debts or nations that are
financially struggling by decreasing both

8

Best Delegate, “Research Binder Friday:
ECOFIN”​https://bestdelegate.com/committee-guide-to-ecofin-economic-and-financial-committee/
Accessed 5 Aug. 2019.
9
OECD, "Gender wage gap - OECD Data OECD.org."
https://data.oecd.org/earnwage/gender-wage-gap.htm​. Accessed 24 Aug. 2019.
10
BusinessDictionary, "What is informal sector?
definition and meaning - BusinessDictionary ...."n.d.
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/infor
mal-sector.html​. Accessed 30 Aug. 2019.

countries as LEDC or MEDC include

negative impact on the gender pay gap. It

industrial development and education.”11

was after the World War II that the
movement aiming towards equal pay

OECD (​The Organisation for Economic

increased. 14

Co-operation and Development)
an organization that “collects andshares data and information on the
progress of international economic matterssuch as the eradication of poverty andinequality in labor”12
STEM

Technology,

Engineering, and Mathematics)“an educational program developed
to prepare primary and secondary students
for college and graduate study in the fields
of science, technology, engineering, andIn

Act was introduced by the US Congress.
This would have mandated the payment of
men and women's wages to be equal inworks done with similar quantity andquality. This unfortunately failed to pass(​Science,

mathematics.

In 1945, the Women’s Equal Pay

additiontosubject-specific learning, STEM aims tofoster inquiring minds, logical reasoning,and collaboration skills.”13

and during the 1950s, little progress was
made. ​However, in 1963, the US congress

passed the Equal Pay Act. The Equal Pay
Act was made so that “​employers cannot
award unequal wages or benefits to men
and women working jobs that require
equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and
which

are

performed

undersimilarworking conditions.” 15

Sub Topics
CultureHistory of the topic

This section introduces cases from several
countries as an example of how culture can

One major cause for the gender pay

be seen as one cause of the gender pay

gap was gender discrimination. Factors

gap. This section will especially focus onsuch as women’s career breaks, household“Culturelabour, religion, and tradition also had a“Race-Discriminatory Culture”.

​“Mission 2015: LEDC MEDC Education
Comparison - MIT.”
http://web.mit.edu/12.000/www/m2015/2015/ledc_
medc_edcomparison.html​. Accessed 2 Aug. 2019.
12“About” 2019, ​http://www.oecd.org/about/
Accessed 24 Aug. 2019.
13​“STEM (science, technology, engineering, andmathematics)” 2019,https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/STEM-scie
nce-technology-engineering-and-mathematics
Accessed 24 Aug. 2019.

at

Workplaces”

and

11

14

“Gender Pay Gap and The Struggle for Equal
Pay”
https://www.striking-women.org/module/workplac
e-issues-past-and-present/gender-pay-gap-and-strug
gle-equal-pay​ Accessed 5 Aug. 2019.
15“​Equal Pay Act​”
https://www.history.com/topics/womens-rights/equal-pay-act​ Accessed 4 Sep 2019.

Culture at Workplaces

discrimination in hiring practices are

Chinacontributing to a decrease in the female
In China, there are laws that ban

gender discrimination. However, theselaws aremostly unclear and rarely

enforced.

Genderdiscriminationisworkforce, therefore becoming a major
factor of the gender pay gap in China.19
South Korea

tolerated in Chinese culture and is causing
gender discrimination in recruitment.

In 2018, South Korea was “ranked
30 out of 36 OECD nations for women's

In April 2018, leading Chinese

employment, even though it has thefirms including an e-commerce giant,highest tertiary education rate of the group

Alibaba, were heavily criticised for gender

for women aged 25 to 34.”20 Gender

discrimination in job advertisements. The

discrimination seen in job interviews andadvertisements reflect “‘traditional andworkplaces reflects the patriarchal culture

deeply discriminatory views” that womenin South Korea.

are less capable than men and that they

In one case which reached thewill not be committed to their jobs because

country's Supreme Court, the CEO of theof their role as family caregivers.”
Famoustechnology

16

Korea Gas Safety Corporation “was foundcompanies

to have actively instructed managers tohave used advertisements that have openly

manipulate the scores of 31 applicants,

requested for male applicants as well.

while eight women with passing scores

Furthermore, gender discrimination can bewere disqualified and replaced with lower

seen in advertisements for national jobs. In

scoring

2018, nearly 20% of job advertisements

Furthermore, a 2017 survey conducted by

for China’s national civil service had

Incruit, a recruitment firm, found thatconditions such as “men only” and “men“more than one in four women said they

preferred,” according to a report by thewere asked about their plans for marriage

Human Rights Watch.17 Advertisementsor children during interviews.”22

for female train conductors required themtobe“trim,”“fashionable”,

and

men

Choi
Women

in 2015

and 2016.”21

Mi-jin, president of theLabor Law Support Center,“beautiful.”18 These forms of gender
19

ibid.
“South Korea's glass ceiling: the women
struggling to get hired by companies that only wantmen” 2 Feb 2019,https://edition.cnn.com/2019/01/31/asia/south-kore
a-hiring-discrimination-intl/index.html​ Accessed
12 Aug. 2019.
21
ibid.
22
ibid.
20

16

“China's 'men only' job culture slammed in newreport” 23 Apr 2018,https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/chinasmen-only-job-culture-slammed-in-new-report
Accessed 12 Aug. 2019.
17
ibid.
18
ibid.

of

a cause of women earning less than men.25

society

Therefore, a cultural assumption thatregarding gender roles. In Korean society,women are responsible for housework andmen assume the role of earning money for

usually earn less than men are a cause of

his family, and women are responsible forthe gender pay gap in Indonesia.

acknowledges
stereotypes

in

the

dominance

theKoreantaking care of their children and doinghousework. She further mentions that the

Denmarkvalues and stereotypes which the society

Social norms that women should

possesses is what causes the prevalence ofcare for their children is a cause of thegender discrimination in hiring and why it

gender pay gap in Denmark. Denmark has“continues to be practiced.”23 The lack ofa stable childcare system. It is a country

laws

genderthat “offers new parents an entire year of

discrimination is another factor which

paid leave after the birth of a child. The

allows gender discriminatory recruitment

government offers public nursery care forinterviews to continue, thus contributing tochildren under 3 at the equivalent of $737

the gender pay gap.

a month.”26 However, there is a 15% pay

regulating

againstgap between the genders. A study by theIndonesia

National Bureau of Economic ResearchIndonesia also has a patriarchal

estimates that childbearing “accounts for

culture that contributes to the gender pay

80 percent of the gender wage gap ingap. Indonesian culture has an assumption

Denmark.”27 According to the Danishthat men should work for the family andpolicy, parents are allowed to split up theirwomen should do the housework. Data byleave. However, in reality, women tend to

the ILO in 2012 shows that womentake most of the couple’s leave. This

represent approximately

38% of thereflects the social norm in Danish society

service.

In

which believes that mothers should takeIndonesia, more than a third of womencare of their babies and that the same

have jobs that assign women to do

burden does not fall on fathers. As a matter

domestic work, such as “taking care of theof fact, there is a recent data which showshousehold and nurturing.”24 These jobs arethat “Danish men account for just 10

workforce

in

the

civil

paid lower compared to other jobs, and are
25
23

ibid.
24
“Indonesian Culture Causes many Gender Pay
Gaps” 2019,https://wageindicator.org/wageindicator-15-years/indonesian-culture-causes-many-gender-pay-gaps
Accessed 13 Aug. 2019.

ibid.
“A stunning chart shows the true cause of thegender wage gap” 19 Feb 2018,https://www.vox.com/2018/2/19/17018380/genderwage-gap-childcare-penalty​ Accessed 13 Aug.
2019.
27
ibid.
26

percent of parental leave taken in thebias is a factor for the gender pay gap

country.”28 Cultural gender roles play aalong with the gender bias.32

part in women taking more parental leavethan their husbands, and this is the main

Education Effects

cause of the gender pay gap in Denmark.

This

sectionintroduces

cases

from

multiple countries to show how education
Race-Discriminatory Culture

can also be a factor of the gender pay gap.

USA
In the USA, the gender pay gap isYemenlarger for women of color compared to

Yemen was the worst performer inwhite women. While white women earna gender equality in 2014, and this low$0.87 for every dollar earned by their malelevel has been kept to the present day. As acounterparts, Asian women earn $0.79.

premise, women have few opportunities toBlack women earn $0.63 to every dollar,

work in the society. This is caused

Native American women earn $0.57, andpartially by the education style in Yemen

29

Latina women earn $0.54.

which discourages girls from going toRegardless of “the fact that womenschool. This style makes children believeearn college degrees at a higher rate thanthat women do not need to work in themen,” research has found that moresociety, and this has been thought to have

women engage in jobs with low salary.

a direct connection to the gender gap.

This is more conspicuous in the case of

In Yemen, girls are discouraged

women of color.30 Research shows thatfrom studying for their future. “With 24

women of color“account for 17 percent

percent of the female population illiterate,of the overall workforce, but make up 33

it becomes challenging to find a female

percent of some of the fastest-growing

teaching staff.”33 In Yemen, it is common

low-wage jobs such as retail, fast food,for girls to be dropping out of primary or

personal care aides, and home healthsecondary school. However, the perception

aides.”31 This evidence suggests that racialof education has started to change in thiscountry.34

28

ibid.
“Why the gender pay gap still exists 55 years
after the Equal Pay Act was signed” 10 June 2018,https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/08/why-the-gender-pay-gap-still-exists-55-years-after-the-equal-pay-a
ct.html​ Accessed 13 Aug. 2019.
30
ibid.
31
ibid.
29

32

ibid.

33

“BREAKING DOWN CULTURAL BARRIERSTO GIRLS…”10 June 2018,https://borgenproject.org/breaking-down-cultu
ral-barriers-to-girls-education-in-yemen/
34

ibid.

In order to change girls’ educationin Yemen, the Yemeni government has

ChadGirls in Chad have less chance tobeen making significant attempts. One
attempt made in 2007, with the aid of the
IDA(International

Development

Association), is the training of female
teachers. Out of 550 participants, 525 havereceived

theircertification,

and

the

government worked on increasing theenrollment of children in basic educationand enhanced the quality of teaching inschools.35

Another

attemptbythegovernment is the Second Basic Education
Development Project for Yemen. It aims
for the improvement of the quality of basic
education and for the increase in rates ofCurrently, the USAID (United
Agencyforin Chad are expected to do householdchores from a young age. This results inthe education system in Chad that relies on
the stereotype that education is not asimportant as girls’ responsibilities athome. Chadian girls are not educatedenough, yet they are forced to take care ofothers.39 Chadian girls need to choose
between supporting their family members’
lives or studying for themselves, which
does not leave them with much of achoice. In developing countries like Chad,children need to work for their families

female students in schools.36
Stateswork in a society than boys do. The girls

International

lives.

specificsocialgap

between men and women which affects
girls’ education in Yemen is underage
marriage. The United Nations Population
Fund has observed that the rate of girls
marrying under age 18 has risen from 52%
to 66% between 2016 and 2017. Girls do
not receive enough care in Yemen, andthere

is no system which aims to

improve the current situation.38
35

ibid.
ibid.
37
ibid.
38
“Yemeni Women’s Uphill Struggle for
Education”
36

prevents

education

The government has been taking
some actions to tackle this situation in
Chad. There has been an education plan

infrastructure for female students.37
Anotherfact

opportunities for children.

Development) has also been working in
Yemen to create a safe educationalThis

called Chad’s Interim Education Plan
(PIET). PIET is “effective from 2018 to2020 and consists of three different
priorities which are as follows: continue toprovidequalityprimary

education,

improve the relevance of education at
every level as well as improve themanagement and coordination of theeducation sector in Chad.”40 With the help
https://www.al-fanarmedia.org/2014/06/yemeni-wo
mens-uphill-struggle-education/​ Accessed 19 Aug,2019.
39
​ “GIRLS’ EDUCATION IN CHAD”30 Jul 2018,https://borgenproject.org/girls-education-in-ch
ad/
40

ibid.

of foreign aid, impoverished countries likeIn the USA, there is a severe

Chad, may be able to provide equal

problem about childcare support. “In the

educational opportunities to girls.41

United States, 51 percent of all residents
live in a child care desert.” In addition,

Childbirth and Childcare
This

sectionintroduces

there
cases

is

an

inequalityof childcarefromdepending on their race, residence area,multiple countries as an example of how

and their income level.44 “69 percent ofchildbirth and childcare have an influencemothers of young children participate inon the gender pay gap.

the labor force.”45 Some suspect the “childcare deserts are associated with fewer

Finlandmothers in the workforce.”46 This situation

In Finland, children have earlyis common, especially among developed

education support, and many parents think

countries. A lot of families are waiting for

it is good for their child’s future. “Early

chances to get a place that their children

childhood education is education, teaching

can be taken care of.47

and care that have been pedagogicallyChildcare needs a lot of money,planned, with carefully considered goals.”

and this point makes the childcare problem

42

Usually, children in developed countries

more complicated. Even when parents dohave few chances to know about working.

find a nursery school for their child, some

Finland gives children an opportunity to

suffer from its cost. Because of this, thestudy about work and to perceive a clear

government started to support parents by aimage about their future.43 Learning about

new system48

work widens children’s future possibilities
and provides children with a positive view

In order to raise children, a lot of
supportisneeded.

Thegovernment

about their abilities.
USA

41“​LOCATING COMMUNITIES WITHEDUCATION INEQUALITY IN CHAD” 24 Jan.
2019,
fraym.io/locating-communities-with-education-ine
quality-in-chad/. Accessed 20 Aug, 2019.
42“Day care - InfoFinland:early childhood
education”14 Feb 2019,https://www.infofinland.fi/en/living-in-finland/education/child-education/day-care
43​“Early childhood education and care” 2018,www.educationfinland.fi/what-we-offer/early-childhood-education-and-care​. Accessed 27, Aug, 2019.

44“58 percent of Hispanic/Latino families, 60
percent of rural families, and 55 percent of
low-income families” (Center for American
Progress, 2017) live in areas without sufficientchildcare supply.
45“Do you live in a childcare desert?”(2017),

https://www.childcaredeserts.org/
46
ibid.
47
​“Childcare and daycare” 2019,usahello.org/resources/childcare/. Accessed 27,
Aug, 2019
48​“The US and the High Cost of Child Care: A
Review of Prices and Proposed Solutions for a
Broken System” (2018),
http://usa.childcareaware.org/advocacy-public-policy/resources/research/costofcare/​.

support efficaciously changes parents’

it is “68.2 per cent in Asia and the Pacific,

situations49

68.6 per cent in the Arab States, 40.0 per
cent in the Americas and 25.1 per cent inEurope and Central Asia” 52.

Informal and Formal Sectors
This section introduces informal and

Women suffer more in informal

formal sectors, and explains why they arelabor than men. Women tend to be in

influencing the gender pay gap.

informal labor more in many of the low
and low-middle countries and are found in

The informal sector is a widespreadvulnerable places53.

issue nations face regardless of their level
ofdevelopment.

AccordingtotheInternational Labour Organization (ILO),

The basic fact of women having ahigher possibility of being in the informal
sector has several dimensions.

“[more] than 60 per cent of the world’sFirstly, for women, informal sector

employed population earn their livelihoods

is an important choice of labor. In

in the informal economy.”50 This amounts

developing nations, most women in laborto 2 billion people and they “are deprived

are engaged in informal employment.

51

of decent working conditions” . One will

However,have a higher possibility of finding people

employment varies in each region. In

in these situations in developing countries.

many

People suffering in informal sector do not

women in the informal sector are either

have a choice. They are forced by the

self-employedsociety due to the lack of formal labor as

workers”54. On the other hand, in many

well as the lack of livelihood.

countries in Latin America and Asia,

Furthermore, according to ILO’s

the

type

African countries,
orof

informal“almost allcontributing

family“although the majority of workers areresearch, if agriculture is included in the

self-employed

informal sector, half of the workers are

members, at least 20 percent of women in

seen

informalthe informal sector are casual wage

employment. Moreover, in Africa, “85.8

workers”55. However, some say these

as

been

working

inorcontributing

familypercent of employment is informal” while
52
49“America’s childcare desert in 2018” 6 Dec 2018https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/early-childhood/reports/2018/12/06/461643/americas-child-c
are-deserts-2018/50"Women and Men in the Informal Economy: A
Statistical Picture - ILO." 20 Feb. 2018,https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgrep
orts/---dcomm/documents/publication/wcms_62683
1.pdf​. Accessed 27 Aug. 2019.
51
ibid.

"Informal economy: More than 60 per cent of theworld's employed ... - ILO." 30 Apr. 2018,https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/
news/WCMS_627189/lang--en/index.htm​.
Accessed 1 Aug. 2019.
53​ibid.
54"WOMEN IN THE INFORMAL SECTOR: A
GLOBAL PICTURE, THE ...."n.d.
http://www.cpahq.org/cpahq/cpadocs/module6mc.p
df​. Accessed 27 Aug. 2019.
55
ibid.

percentages are not relevant since there arethat informal sector is a widespreadmany unknown labor including industrial

problem.

outworkers

andFurthermore,compared

informalworkforce,homeworkers.

to the

women

male

in

the

Informal economy has great impact
on women and creates gender gaps in pay;therefore,itinterferes

with

the

informal sector are more likely to be

empowerment of women as well as

subcontract employees and are less likely

equalizing gender rights.

to be paid employees or to be owner
operator56. Gender based differences andFemale Leaders

region based differences defines the level

This section will introduce how the rate ofof informal economy within a country.

female leaders in workplaces have an

When women are forced to work or

influence on the gender pay gap.

need to work in informal sectors, they areleft without any protection of labor laws in

In addition to the gaps caused bynations, social benefits such as pension,

governmental and/or economical causes,

57

health insurance or paid sick leave .

gender pay gaps are caused due to the

Furthermore,these work

unfairness created by organizations andsources are derived to low wage as well aswork industries. Women’s leadership roles

unsafesexualmust be considered in work places.

harassment58. The lack or protection give

According to the World Economic Forum,

series of serious damage to women. For

not only that more effort must be made toexample, informal labor does not provide

balance labor according to talent, butworkers with pensions in their elderlies,

companies must also adopt better practices

bringing elderly women into poverty.

andResearch proves not only in developing

promotion,

countries but also in developed countries

transparency, and targets60.

womenconditions

in
such

as

policiesinhiring,mentorship,retention,sponsorship,such as France and Germany, “women’s

It is said that women cover a third

average pension is more than 30 per centof the workforce. However, “only 5 perlower than men’s”59, suggesting the factcent or less of CEOs of the largest global
corporationsarewomen”61.

Even

if

56

ibid.
"Women in informal economy | UN Women –Headquarters."
n.d.​https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/cs
w61/women-in-informal-economy​. Accessed 27
Aug. 2019.
58
ibid.
59
ibid.
57

60

"5 charts that will change how you see women's
equality in 2017 ...." 2 Nov. 2017,https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/11/womenequality-gender-gap-report-2017/​. Accessed 2 Aug.
2019.
61"​GaininG MoMentuM - ILO." 3 Jun. 2014,
https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgrep

women do become leaders, they usually

2008 to 27 percent in 2018”64 Role ofbelong to small companies. ILO, which

women has been discussed in many

proves that women are vital work force,industries for the past few decades. Not

further states “[human] capital has become

only do women in board positions need tokeya

be considered but there is a need for allcompetitive edge in economies that areindustries to determine women as aincreasingly based on knowledge andworkforce with great passion.

forcompanies

62

technology” .

maintainandRegardless of the fact that women

believe women workers will

have started to gain leadership in somecreate further development and increaseindustries, pay gaps exists in the highcompetitiveness.

status as well. For example, research

employers

Many

to

Althoughcompanies

andshows, “[approximately] 46 percent ofrelates to thewomen in the top five positions rank either

development of a nation or a company,

fourth or fifth in pay, compared to 33

moving women into decision making

percent of male top five executives inincludes complex issues. However, there

these pay rankings”65.

empowerment

women

directlylabor

has been some progress.

In addition to the empowerment ofCountries from regions

such aswomen executives, the increase of women

Europe and North America have improved

politicians

its policy making and the empowerment of

Women's research figures only 24.3% of

women. Furthermore, improvement has

all national parliamentarians were women

been

The

in February 2019, a slow increase frompercentage of women directors seen in the

11.3% in 1995. Furthermore, in June 2019,

Russell 3000, “increased from 10 percent

11 women were serving as Head of Statein 2008 to 18 percent in 2018, with mostandof the increase taking place since 2013.”63

Government. In Rwanda, women won

Furthermore, the percentage of women

61.3% of the seats in the lower house,directors in the International Space Station

having the highest number of women(ISS)’s core universe of widely held

parliamentarians. Globally, there are 27

European firms “tripled from 8 percent innations in which women take less than

seen

in

some

markets.

12

must

were

be

furthered.

serving as

UNHead of

10% of parliamentarians in single or lower
orts/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcm
s_334882.pdf​. Accessed 27 Aug. 2019.
62
ibid.
63
"Women in the C-Suite: The Next Frontier in
Gender Diversity." 13 Aug. 2018,https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2018/08/13/wome
n-in-the-c-suite-the-next-frontier-in-gender-diversit
y/​. Accessed 2 Aug. 2019.

houses including 3 chambers with no

64

ibid.
ibid.

65

women at all66. Despite the increase in theThrough this present situation, thepercentage and number, women leaders in

Namibian government guarantees to work

politics have not been the same as menon the gap. The Namibian government hasleaders.

been taking initiatives to redress gender

Steps

must bemade byallequality. Legislations have been enacted toindustries and governments in order toprohibit discrimination based on gender.

empower women’s role in society.

Namibiansoughtgovernment

policies

have

supportwomen’slabortoenvironment

Each Region’s StanceThis section introduces the stances of eachregion by alphabetical order, and a few
select countries within each region byalphabetical order.

and

wage

level,

andnumerous organisations have continued tocall out for gender equity within thesociety.68
South Africa
South Africa has a large gender

Africapay gap. Men make on average $558 more

Namibia
The conception of the gender pay
gap in Namibia is progressing in female
education, particularly among younger
generations.

Namibian

women

have

achieved gender equality in education andhealth according to the Global Gender Gap
Index.”67 However, in this country’s case,women are treated unfairly by economical
standards.

They

still

have

less

opportunities of empowerment.

than women per month. This is thesixth-largest pay gap in Africa.69
The World Economic Forum has
stated in reaction to the 2017 report’s
findings on pay, that men and women who
are doing the same job are paid differently.
70

The cause of this is that the South

African society has a stereotype thatwomen are more likely to work inindustries with lower average pay‚ rather
than in high-income areas, which are

66"Facts and figures: Leadership and politicalparticipation | UN Women ...."
http://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/leadershi
p-and-political-participation/facts-and-figures​.
Accessed 2 Aug. 2019.
67​“108 Years: Wait for Gender Equality Gets
Longer as Women’s Share of Workforce, Politics
Drops”
https://www.weforum.org/press/2018/12/108-years-wait-for-gender-equality-gets-longer-as-women-sshare-of-workforce-politics-drops/
Accessed by 1 Aug. 2019.

​“INSIDE THE GENDER PAY GAP: WHATEXPLAINS DISPARITIES IN GENDER PAY IN
NAMIBIA?”​https://www.npc.gov.na/?wpfb_dl=313​ A​ ccessed 2017.
69​“What does the pay gap between men andwomen really look like in
Africa?”​https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.time
slive.co.za/amp/news/africa/2018-03-13-what-does-the-pay-gap-between-men-and-women-really-look-like-in-africa/​. Accessed 13 March. 2018.
70​ibid.
68

traditionally dominated by men.71

As a

and be prevalent, so changing it is difficult

result, many developing countries inif the government does not move to solve

Africa have a constitution that men

it. Zambia is a concrete example of this.76

monopolize upper-class societies. This
structure is difficult to change, and theAsiaelimination of the gender wage gap has not

China

been making much progress in South
Africa.

72

Women make up around 44 percentof the total labor force in China. There arejob advertisements in China that target

Zambiawomen. “​Many include requirements for

Of its population of 12 million

women to be married with children and topeople, 4 million of Zambia’s citizens arepossess specific physical attributes (e.g.,

in formal, pensionable employment andheight, weight) that are not related to job

the majority of these workers are male,duties.” ​Additionally, another cause for theaccording a Central Statistical Survey.73

gender pay gap in China is the low rate ofZambia has a serious gender wage

women working as board directors fromgap, because of its citizens’ stereotype thatpublicly traded companies. The fact that inregards women of less value than men.

China’s single house parliament, womenThis

make up only a quarter of all positions isstereotype

isdifficulttobediminished by law. “Part of the Zambiananother factor for the wage gap.77

Labour Laws states that no person shall be
discriminate against on basis of race,

Indonesia

gender, colour or religion. But this law has

Although the overall wage gap inbeen flouted, mostly due to lack ofIndonesia is 5%, men are paid 1.2% more

74

than women regarding the same level ofZambian women suffer from the prejudice.

jobs.78 In Indonesia, “​the wage gap tends

This bias appears in work places, thus

to be wider among younger workers,

leading to the gender pay gap.75 The

particularly

stringent

implementation

measures.”

among

those

who

are

women need to fight against the society.
Stereotypes take a lot of time to be created
76

ibid.
​“Women in the Workforce-China; Quick
Take”​https://www.catalyst.org/research/women-inthe-workforce-china/​ Accessed 24 Aug. 2019.
78“Women Paid More Than Men for Same Job inIndonesia: Global Survey”
https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2018/05/22/
women-paid-more-than-men-for-same-job-in-indon
esia-global-survey.html​ Accessed 24 Aug. 2019.
77​ibid.
ibid.
73​“The Women Gender Wage Gap in the Zambia”
https://mywage.org/zambia/salary/equal-pay-menwomen-zambia/gender-pay-gap​ Accessed by 2019.
74​ibid.
75​ibid.
71
72

underemployed.” 79 Indonesia is making aneffort to equalise both the opportunity andMalaysia

the wages of both genders. 80

The difference between Malaysia’s
pay gap is currently marked at 21%. The

Japan

rate of women in the labor workforce isJapan ranks in the bottom third ofsignificantly smaller compared to men;the 144 countries surveyed by The World

despite the fact that for every male student

Economic Forum. Many women are forced

there are 1.63 female student.83

to quit their jobs after giving birth to a

Malaysia has already taken many

child due to the lack of nursery schools

steps to narrow the inequality. In 2015,

which is a major cause of the pay gap.81“​the government mandated that women

Another major factor is that femalecomprise at least 30% of the boards ofrepresentatives only make up 9% of thelarge corporations by 2020.”84 Due to this,total parliament.

the pay gap has slowly decreased.85

To fight against pay gap, Prime
Minister Abe has made changes, making

Russiaan environment where women are able to

Russian women significantly earn

release their full potential. He additionallyless than men with around a quarter of theincreased the number of females inpay gap. Russia is lagging behind otherleadership

Nevertheless,developed countries. Russian women do“despite Abe’s ‘womenomics’ programme,

not have enough representation in politics;

as it’s known, the plan is struggling toout of 31 ministers, only three are female

make a dent,” and struggles to rapidly

which may be the one reason for Russia's

positions.

82

diminish the gap.

gender wage gap.86

79“​New Evidence on the Gender Wage Gap inIndonesia” Accessed 24 Aug. 2019.
https://investinginwomen.asia/knowledge/new-evid
ence-gender-wage-gap-indonesia/
80​ibid.
81​“How Japan Can Fix It’s Gender Pay Gap”
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2018/05/03/c
ommentary/japan-commentary/japan-can-fix-gapin
g-gender-gap/#.XWE_epMzbjA​ Accessed 24 Aug.
2019.
82​“ Women in Japan, How The Gender Pay Gap
Limits Their Potential To
Shine”​https://www.lifegate.com/people/news/wom
en-in-japan-gender-pay-gap​ Accessed 24 Aug.
2019.

​“Women Should Leave Work At 4:21pm. Here’s
Why”
https://www.imoney.my/articles/gender-wage-gapmalaysia​ Accessed 24 Aug. 2019.
84​ “Advancing Gender Equality in Malaysia”
https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/advancing-gender-equality-malaysia​ Accessed 24 Aug. 2019.
85
ibid
86
“Women In Russia Earn Far Less Than Their
Male Counterparts”
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2017/09/15/wo
men-in-russia-earn-much-less-than-men-a58950
Accessed 24 Aug. 2019.
83

Singapore
Singapore is ranked 4th overall inbeating gender stereotypes is necessary inorder to diminish the wage gap.90

the World Economic Forum (WEF)’s
survey with 13% of wage gap between

The Philippines

men and women. The cause for the pay

The

gap

WEF

noted

that

the

in Singapore may be “due toPhilippines was able to close 80% of theoccupational differences as women aregap, which caused the nation to rise to 8thmuch more likely than men to work inplace.91

service, education and care-related roles

Philippines high gender equality is their— 91 percent of personal care workers areculture. Traditionally, “​the indigenous

female.”87 Another factor is that, sincepeoples of the region showed greatmen spend more time in work compared toreverence for women.”92 ​Moreover, thewomen, they tend to get higher wages andcareer advancements.88

The

Philippines

has

major

reasonelectedtwobehindfemalepresidents which is, as an Asian country,
rare.93

South Korea
South Korea’s gender wage gap is
39 percent on average. Moreover, Korea is

EuropeEuropean Union

the country with the highest gender wage

Regarding the gender pay gap,

gap out of 28 OECD nations. The gender

European Union (EU) countries have astereotypes in South Korea is the major

wide spread rate “from less than 8% inreason for the pay gap.89 Women in South

Belgium,

Korea is “under-represented in public

Romania, and Slovenia to more than 20%

life,” even though they have higher

in Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany,

Italy, Luxembourg,

Poland,average scores in PISA and PIAAC andhave a higher level of education comparedto their male peers. It can be said that

87

“Singapore’s Gender Wage Gap Widens in2018”
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/singaporegender-wage-gap-widens-2018​ Accessed 24 Aug.
2019.
88
ibid.
89
​“Gender Wage Gap in South Korea”
https://infogram.com/gender-wage-gap-in-south-ko
rea-1g4qpzdozydom1y​ Accessed 24 Aug. 2019.

90“Men and Women Differ About Competition - A
Cause of The Gender Pay Gap
https://www.continentaltelegraph.com/economy/men-and-women-differ-about-competition-a-cause-ofthe-gender-pay-gap/​ Accessed 24 Aug. 2019.
91“​Philippines climbs to No. 8 in 2018 Global
Gender Gap report​”
https://www.rappler.com/nation/219124-philippines-ranking-global-gender-gap-report-2018​ ​Accessed
24 Aug. 2019.
92​“The Gender Pay Gap: What Asia Can Learn
From The Philippines”
https://www.hcli.org/articles/gender-gap-what-asiacan-learn-philippines​ Accessed 24 Aug. 2019.
93

ibid

Estonia and the United Kingdom” 94. The

to check and sign off job classifications on

EU has promoted Equal Pay Day, a day

the basis of their gender neutrality”98, andwomen have to work until they gain theurges companies with more than 50

same amount as male colleagues earn theemployees to submit a report on genderprevious year, in order to raise awarenessgaps every two years, making Belgium

on the gender pay gap between men andhave the lowest gender pay gap in Europe.

95

women.

Czech Republic
Belgium

Czech

Republic

being

secondBelgium is one of the nations withhighest country for gender pay gap marks

the lowest gender pay gap in both Europe

22% of difference between men andand the OECD, beating countries such as

women in wage.

Sweden and Iceland, countries with theAccording to the Czech Statisticalbest reputation for gender equality. 2017

Office (CZSO), Czech’s major situation inOECD research shows the median wage of

gender gap is due to the education

Belgian man is 3.3% higher than women,

opportunities and the differences in thewhile the average of the EU nations isrole in labor.99 CZSO states the highest

19.2%.96 In some labor, women are paid

pay gap continues to exist between women

more by hour.

and mendue to theeducation in

A law was created in Belgium inuniversities, on the average gap of 27.8%.

2012, which “made it mandatory for the

Furthermore, research shows differences

gender pay gap to be specifically taken

existing in Czech Republic is also shown

into account when unions and employers

in the representation of men and women in97

negotiate their wage agreements” . It also

company management. Currently, only 7%“requires the Federal labour service (SPF)of the managers at Czech firms are women100.

"​ The gender pay gap situation in the EU |European Commission."
n.d.​https://ec.europa.eu/info/policies/justice-and-fu
ndamental-rights/gender-equality/equal-pay/gender-pay-gap-situation-eu_en​. Accessed 23 Aug. 2019.
95​"European Equal Pay Day."
2019,​https://www.equalpayday.be/europa/​.
Accessed 24 Aug. 2019.
96"How Belgium is defeating the gender pay gap |The Independent." 5 Apr. 2018,https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/
gender-pay-gap-belgium-how-fight-business-workwomen-income-men-a8290321.html​. Accessed 24
Aug. 2019.
97​ibid.

Czech Republic has a legislation on

94

equality of wages and “an Equal Pay Day
has been organized by Business andProfessional Women (BPW) since 2010.”​ibid.
​"Equal Pay Day to challenge gender pay gap in
the Czech ... - Expats.cz." 26 Mar. 2019,https://news.expats.cz/praguejobs/equal-pay-day-to-challenge-gender-pay-gap-in-the-czech-republic/​.
Accessed 24 Aug. 2019.
100​ibid.
98
99

101

However, equal pay is complex inCzech Republic. Case Laws do not exist

practices and pay systems in the public
sector103.

regardless of the fact that there are

Although such actions were stated,apparent differences in pay. Employees

Europeanwith low pay are hesitant of suing theirrecommendation suggesting, even thoughemployers. Furthermore, it is difficult tothe pay gap is the widest in the European

prove that there is clear discrimination

Union

when it comes to payment. This is due to“[flexibility] in parental leave and athe social habit of not being open with thebenefit system with a view to facilitating

amountreceive.

parents' return to the labour market was

Therefore, they are not aware of theneeded.”104 Furthermore, it states, “[better]

unfairness existing in the company102.

pay transparency could help to better

Many interference will continue to exist

understand the reasons behind this highuntil gaining equal wage.

gender wage gap.”105

Estonia

FranceofpaymenttheyandCommisionhasincreased

madearecently,

Estonia marks the highest gender

France has about 15% gender pay

pay gap in all European nations raging up

gap, higher than the average of European

to 25%.

nations.

The European commission has

In 2018, the French government

estimated that in 2012, Estonia madeannounced an action plan which consists

action plans to improve the high pay gap.

of measures in order to ensure gender

Such plans are for example, improving theequality in workplaces. Out of the 10

implementation of the existing Gendermeasures, 5 are for gender pay gap and theEquality Act such as the improvement ofother half are for sexual harassment.

the collection of statistics, awarenessMeasures announced by the Frenchraising, support of the work of the Gender

government relating to gender pay gaps

Equality

andCommissioner,

Equal
promotingTreatment
gendermainstreaming especially in the field of
education, analysing the organizational
101

ibid.
​"The Policy on Gender Equality in the Czech
Republic - European ...."
2015,​http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etude
s/IDAN/2015/510009/IPOL_IDA(2015)510009_E
N.pdf​. Accessed 24 Aug. 2019.
102

103

"Tackling the gender pay gap in the European
Union - Equal Salary."
2013,​https://www.equalsalary.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Tackling_Gender_Pay_Gap_European_Union_Report2014_ES_P21.pdf​. Accessed 24
Aug. 2019.
104"European commission includes gender pay gap,
R&D as ... - ERR News." 5 June. 2019,https://news.err.ee/949246/european-commission-i
ncludes-gender-pay-gap-r-d-as-areas-to-improve​.
Accessed 24 Aug. 2019.
105
ibid.

include applying the principle of “equal

promoted policies for equal rights andpayequal pay for women.

for equal work”. This requires

companies to make their equal pay results

Currently, Romania is estimated totransparent in order to fight against thehave the lowest gender pay gap in Europe

gender pay gaps in woking environments.

of approximately 5%. However, “Romania

106

In order to strengthen the policy andis one of the few countries in the EU

minimize gender pay gap as well as genderwhere women’s employment rate has

inequality, the French government has

fallen slightly since 2000, settling around

implemented the plan in the law on “the58%,

freedom to choose one’s professional

employees, a rate that grew over the past 5

future” dated 5 September 2018. Further

years.”109.

precisions on what is expected from

employment rate is lower than that ofcompanies have been recently given in an

men’s in Romania could relate to theadministrative decree dated 8 January

gender pay gap in this country. On the2019107. Moreover, the creation of theother hand, it has been estimated that

equal pay index, which was made in effort

Romania’s low gender pay gap is due toto minimize the gender pay gap, has been

thesuccessful.108

opportunity.

comparedincrease

The

of

to

75%

fact thatwomen’sof

male

women’s

working

Although France is still a country
with high gender pay gap, the nation has
implemented

newpolicies

United Kingdom

and new

United Kingdom has a genderthoughts in order to combat genderwage gap of around 20%, being one of theinequality.

highest countries in unequal payment.
Gender pay reporting requirements,

Romania

introduced as a part of the Equality Act

Although there was a fall in the2010, was put into action in 2017. This

operation of the country in 1989, which

requires all employers with 250 or more

led to a stop of the promotion of genderstaff to report pay, bonuses and other data

equality in the 20th century, Romania hason a government’s website110. Although

109

106

"Closing the Gender Pay Gap in France: Get
Ready | Orrick ... - JD Supra." 14 Feb. 2019,https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/closing-the-gender-pay-gap-in-france-83487/​. Accessed 27 Aug.
2019.
107
ibid.
108
ibid.

"smartree analysis: in romania, the average
gender pay gap is 5 ...." 4 May. 2018,https://actmedia.eu/daily/smartree-analysis-in-roma
nia-the-average-gender-pay-gap-is-5-below-the-euaverage/75279​. Accessed 24 Aug. 2019.
110​"Gender Pay Gap: women still short-changed in
the UK - Financial Times." 23 Apr. 2019,https://ig.ft.com/gender-pay-gap-UK-2019/​.
Accessed 24 Aug. 2019.

policy makers wished for transparency andAgency, women earn 14% less than theirimprovement of the pay gap through themale counterparts in Australia; Australia’s

implementation of this requirement, there

gender pay gap has been wavering in

has not been much improvement. The pay

between 14% and 19% for the past 20

gap only shrunk from 9.7% (2017) to 9.6%

years.115 According to a report created by(2018); furthermore, it is discovered that

the Commonwealth of Australia in 2016,

more than a quarter of the companies pay

The Australian Services Union (ASU)

women over 20% less than men ​by hour​.

remarked, “legislative changes introducing

Before the deadline of the recent

comparable value into the Fair Work Act

111

equal remuneration for work of equal orreport, British women such as women2009

achievedsome

success

infrom lawmakers encouraged women toameliorating unequal pay.”116 Australia hastalk about their unfairness in salaries.

been making actions in order to combat the

British women took action by starting agender pay gap, and will be making more

#PayMeToo hashtag campaign in an

improvements in the future.

attempt to encourage employees to talk to
one another about how much they are paid,

New Zealandwishing for equal pay in the United
Kingdom.112

In New Zealand, the Equal Pay Act
1972 “requires that men and women doing
work requiring the same, or substantially

Oceania

similar, skill, effort, responsibility andAustralia

working conditions are paid the same.”117

The principle of “equal pay for
113

equal work”

has been introduced inAustralia in 1969, and in 1984, a law

Although New Zealand has an Equal Pay
Act as such, the gender pay gap still exists
in the country.

which bans gender discrimination was firstpassed.114 However, according to data in2019 by the Workplace Gender Equality
111

ibid.
​"Britain Aims to Close Gender Pay Gap With
Transparency and Shame ...." 4 Apr. 2018,https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/04/business/brit
ain-gender-pay-gap.html​. Accessed 24 Aug. 2019.
113​“Spotlight on the Gender Pay Gap in Australia”
2018,
https://www.bakermckenzie.com/en/insight/publica
tions/2018/06/spotlight-on-the-gender-pay-gap-in-a
ustralia​ Accessed 24 Aug. 2019.
114​ibid.
112​“Australia’s Gender Pay Gap Statistics” 15 Aug
2019,https://www.wgea.gov.au/data/fact-sheets/australia
s-gender-pay-gap-statistics​ Accessed 24 Aug. 2019.
116​“Chapter 3---Narrowing the gender pay gap” 29
Apr 2016,
https://www.aph.gov.au/parliamentary_business/co
mmittees/senate/economics/economic_security_for_women_in_retirement/Report/c03​ Accessed 24
Aug. 2019.
117​“Gender pay gap” 2019,https://www.employment.govt.nz/hours-and-wages/pay/pay-equity/gender-pay-gap/​ Accessed 24 Aug.
2019.
115

On August 21st 2019, StatsNZ
announced that the gender pay gap in New

making legislations protecting women’s
right as its first step.

Zealand was 9.3%.118 Although the number
itself has decreased from 1998 when it was

The Americas

16.3%, further improvement has stalled in
the last 10 years.119 According to the New

Argentina

120

Zealand Herald , the Prime Minister has

Argentina holds a similar stance tostated disappointment in the stalling of theBrazil; Argentina has a law that requires

gender pay gap following this result. New

equal pay, but has a wide gender pay gap.

Zealand is required to make further

124

movements in order to eliminate theFoundation show that only 37% of women

gender pay gap.

are confident that they have the same job

Poll results from the Thomson Reuters

opportunities as men.125 Thus, the lack ofPapua New Guinea
Accordingequal job opportunities for women may be
tothe

UNFPA,

addressing gender inequality in Papua
121

New Guinea is “a major challenge.”

the cause of the gender pay gap inArgentina.

In

Papua New Guinea, “Violence against

Brazilwomen is unacceptably high”122 and Papua

According to Paula Tavares, a

New Guinea’s “systems of family andBrazilian lawyer and senior legal andcommunity relationships often exclude

gender specialist, “Brazil prohibits genderwomen from leadership and decision

discrimination in hiring.”126 However,making roles.”123 Addressing the genderissues on the gender pay gap and the rights

pay gap in this nation would requireof

women upon recruitment remain.

Women are allowed to work in nearly all
the jobs that men work in. However,
118

ibid.
​ibid.
120​“Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says
Government has 'more work to do' on gender paygap” 21 Aug 2019,https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_
id=1&objectid=12260639​ Accessed 24 Aug. 2019.
121​“Gender equality” 2019,https://png.unfpa.org/en/topics/gender-equality-12
Accessed 24 Aug. 2019.
122​“ADDRESSING GENDER INEQUALITY IN
PAPUA NEW GUINEA” 2019,https://institute.mercy.org.au/addressing-gender-ine
quality-in-papua-new-guinea/​ Accessed 24 Aug.
2019.
123
​ibid.
119

124“Spotlight on the Gender Pay Gap in Latin
America” , 14 Jun 2018https://www.bakermckenzie.com/en/insight/publica
tions/2018/06/spotlight-on-the-gender-pay-gap-in-l
atin-america​ Accessed 24 Aug. 2019
125
“Argentina
The 5 key issues facing women working in theG20”, 2015
http://poll2015.trust.org/country/?id=argentina
Accessed 28 October 2019126​“How Does Brazilian Law See Women” 20 Mar
2017,
https://blogs.worldbank.org/latinamerica/how-doesbrazilian-law-see-women​ Accessed 24 Aug. 2019.

women are restricted against working for2016 OECD data, “Canada is ranked asjobs that require heavy lifting. In Brazil,

having the 8th highest gender pay gap out“theof a list of 43 countries.”131

Consolidation

of

Labor

Laws

prohibits the employment of women forThegovernmentofCanadatasks requiring muscle strength in excess

believes that achieving gender equalityof 20kg for continuous work or 25kg forwould benefit not just women, but all127

occasional work.”

However, this law is

Canadians, since it would make many

simply gender discriminatory, as 20~25kg

families prosper. Canada has released ais “only the average weight of a 5-year-old“proactive pay equity legislation for thechild.”128 Brazil is required to reconsider

federal jurisdiction”132 in October 2018.

its laws that possibly includes genderThis legislation ensures “that women anddiscrimination, as this is stopping womenmenfrom working in the same jobs as men.

workplaces, including the federal private

Furthermore, Brazil has an unequal

sector,working
theinfederallyfederalpublicregulated
service,system between men and women in

Parliamentary workplaces and Ministers’leaving work for childcare. The Brazilian

offices, receive equal pay for work of

law entitles mothers “to maternity leaveequal value.”133 As a part of this measure,for a maximum of six months,”129 whereasa “ Pay Equity Commissioner” will be sent

fathers’ “paternity leave spans for only 20

fromdays.”130 This rule affects women upon

Commission, and this commissioner will

recruitment, as this will make employers

receive funding and the right to conduct

moreyoung maleenforcements such as initiating audits,

candidates as opposed to young female

conducting investigations, and issuing

candidates. Brazil is required to eradicate

orders as well as “administrative monetary

this inequality in order to eliminate thepenalties.” 134 Applying this legislation togender pay gap.

all Canadians would certainly be an

likely to choosetheCanadian

Human

RightsCanadaCanada has a law that makes
paying women less than men illegal.
However, Canada has a gender pay gap
that still needs to be closed. According to​ibid.
​ibid.
129​ibid.
130​ibid.
127
128

131

“The Facts about the Gender Wage Gap in
Canada” 2019,https://www.canadianwomen.org/the-facts/the-wag
e-gap/​ Accessed 24 Aug. 2019.
132​“Government of Canada introduces historicproactive pay equity legislation” 29 Oct 2018,https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-devel
opment/news/2018/10/government-of-canada-intro
duces-historic-proactive-pay-equity-legislation.html​ Accessed 24 Aug. 2019.
133​ibid.
134​ibid.

effective way to address the gender pay

someachievements, but was mostly

gap in Canada.

“fragileandinsufficient.”138

Cuba

confirmed that “the full realization ofColombia

gender equality and the empowerment of

Similar to Brazil, Mexico, andwomen requires a more just and equitable

Venezuela, Colombia has a law thatinternational order that eradicates poverty

requires women to be paid equally to men.

and hunger, puts an end to conflicts,

Colombia ranked 32th out of 144 countries

favours human beings above capital, andfor women’s economic participation andpreserves the environment.”139 Whether

opportunities on a report by the World

Cuba has made further progress since thenEconomic Forum in 2017. This result is

has been unclear.

better than that of other Latin Americancountries. Furthermore, Colombia ranks in

Mexicothe middle tier along with other Latin

According to 2018 OECD data,

American countries on the gender pay gap.

women in Mexico earn 86% of the135

payment their male counterparts earn.140
Although this means that the gender pay

Cuba

gap in Mexico is around the same level or
In Cuba, women make up 66%

slightly smaller than Canada and the US,

percent of the labor force. Cuba reaffirmed

data from the World Bank in 2018 showsthat it needs to continue making an effort

that only 55% of women participate in thetogender equality back inlabor force.141

September 2015. Cuba said that “it will

Mexicoachievehas

beenmakingcontinue to work to change cultural“significant progress in achieving gender

patterns so that men and women share theequality”142 by strengthening laws on

care of their family.”136 As an example,

gender equality and increasing public

Cuba pledged to add more women inresources. The National Development Plan

“decision-making
government.”137

positionsinFurthermore,

Cuba

reflected that their overall past effort had​ ibid.
​“Cuba reaffirms ongoing efforts to equalize
women’s and men’s roles at home and numbers of
women in government decision-making” 27 Sep
2015,
https://www.unwomen.org/en/get-involved/step-itup/commitments/cuba​ Accessed 24 Aug. 2019.
137​ibid.
135
136​ibid.
​ibid.
140​“Gender wage gap” 2019,https://data.oecd.org/earnwage/gender-wage-gap.ht
m#indicator-chart​ Accessed 24 Aug. 2019.
141“Ratio of female to male labor force
participation rate (%) (national estimate)” 2019,https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.TLF.CACT.FM.NE.ZS​ Accessed 24 Aug. 2019.
142​UN Women, “Mexico” 2019,https://lac.unwomen.org/en/donde-estamos/mexico
Accessed 24 Aug. 2019.
138
139

(2013-2018)

mainstreamed“gender

The US also has an equal pay day

equality and women’s empowerment in all

to recognize the gender pay gap in their

its areas,”143 and the National Gendernation. The next equal pay day in the US is

Equality Policy (2013-2018) focused “onMarch 31st, 2019. According to theadvancing substantive equality.” 144

National Committee on Pay Equity, thisdate shows the additional days womenUSA

would have to work in an year in order to
The United Stateshas banned

achieve the same pay as men. This day

unequal pay in the Equal Pay Act of 1963.

was created in 1996 in order to raise public

145

However, as women still earn only 80%

awareness The “Equal Pay Day wasof what their male counterparts earn,

originated by the National Committee on

additional measures have been taken

Pay Equity (NCPE) in 1996 as a publicamong states. In some states of the US,awareness event “to illustrate the gap

employers are prohibited to ask job

between men and women's wages.” 147applicants about their previous wage. This
prevents

femaleapplicantsfromVenezuela

continuing to receive lower wages thanVenezuela’ssituationonthemen due to the fact that they had been paid

gender pay gap is better than most otherless than men in their former workplaces

countries in Latin America. According tofrom gender discrimination. California,

data from the World Economic Forum in

Massachusetts, New York City and Puerto

2017, Venezuela ranks 48th out of 144

Rico are among the jurisdictions whichcountries on the gender pay gap, whereas

have already implemented this restriction,

most Latin American countries are in the

and

under

middle tier. Venezuela has a law thatconsideration in more than 20 otherrequires equal pay between men andstates.”146 This measure helps prevent

women. 148“similarmeasuresareemployers

fromdetermining

anemployee’ssalary

based

the

on

employee’s past salary, putting an end to acycle of gender discriminatory wages.

Examples of Possible
Discussion Topics​“National Committee on Pay Equity” 2019,https://www.pay-equity.org/day.html​ Accessed 24
Aug. 2019.
148​“Spotlight on the Gender Pay Gap in Latin
America” , 14 Jun 2018https://www.bakermckenzie.com/en/insight/publica
tions/2018/06/spotlight-on-the-gender-pay-gap-in-l
atin-america​ Accessed 24 Aug. 2019147

​ibid.
144​ibid.
145​“Equal pay day: How do we close the gender
pay gap?” 2 Apr. 2019.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47753
007​ Accessed 24 Aug. 2019.
146​ibid.
143

● The influenceof culture and● What is your country’s culture?

religion on the gender pay gap

How does it affect the gender pay

男女の賃金差における、文化と

gap in your country?

宗教の影響

自国の文化はどんなか。男女の● Education on STEM subjects and

賃金差に対して、自国の文化は

their correlation to the gender pay

どのような影響を及ぼしている

gap

か。

男女の賃金差と、STEM教育と● Doescountry

have

aninformal sector? How does it affectの相関関係● Informal

yoursectors

and

their

your country’s economy and thecorrelation to the gender pay gap

gender pay gap?

男女の賃金差と、非公式的な経自国に非公式な経済部門はある済部門との相関関係

か。ある場合、自国の経済と男● The lack of female leaders

女の賃金差に対してどのような女性リーダーの不足
Questions to Consider

影響を及ぼしているか。

Chair Recommendation● Does your country have laws that
ensure women receive equal pay asmen?
自国に男女が平等な賃金を得ることを保証する法律はあるか。
● How large is your country’s gender
pay gap?
自国の男女の賃金差はどれくら
いか。
● Does your country have an equal
education system for both genders?
Why/ Why not? If not, what will
your nation do about it in the
future?
自国には男女に平等な教育制度があるか。なぜそうか。もしなければ、自国はそれに対して将来どうするつもりか。

In any conference, delegates must
remember to stay consistent with theirnation’s stance. As delegates are full ofideas on solving the gender pay gap in theconference, the chairs can predict thatsome delegates may start straying fromtheir nation’s stance and start tackling theelimination of the gender pay gap from a
globalperspective.

Althoughthisperspective is indeed crucial in resolving
international issues, chairs must reminddelegates that the UN is a place where
delegations discuss international mattersbased on their country’s needs. Delegatesare required to balance their own country’s
needs first and foremost, and then consider
the needs of other countries.

The goal of this conference is to

A/HRC/41/L.21

eliminate the gender pay gap in order toachieve a more prosperous society. This

UN Reports

goal is likely to be persistent among all
nations in the committee; however, mostReport of the working session on gender

LEDCs currently find achieving gender

statistics

equality itself challenging, while most

-14 April 2014 (ECOSOC)

developed nations have achieved somelevel of gender equality. Delegates should

Ministerial round table: Gender pay gaps

keep in mind to address their nation’sin the public and private sectors: how caneconomic status and level of genderequal pay for work of equal value beequality when considering a resolution forachieved in the changing world of work?

the issue.

-21 March 2017 (ECOSOC)

Resolutions

Tips from the Chairs

Past UN Resolutions

Information from accurate andreliable sources are required for delegates

Resolution concerning the Promotion of

to engage in discussions during theGenderconference. Make sure that the information

Equality,

Pay

EquityandMaternity Protection

you prepare for the conference comes from-11 Dec 2008 (ILO)

reliablesources.

Be

preparedwith

information about your nation on multiple
The role of the United Nations system in

aspects of the topic, as the conference will

implementing the internationally agreed

begoals and commitments in regard to

multiple aspects on the gender pay gap.

gender equality and the empowerment ofResearching some nations your delegation

women

would like to work with would be helpful-May 2011 (ECOSOC)

as it would assist you in focusing on

E/RES/2011/5

certain delegates’ speeches. Do not beholdingafraidmoderated

to passnotes

caucuseson

or engage in

Promotion and protection of all humanconversation with other delegations during

rights, civil, political, economic, social andunmoderated caucuses, as that is the first

cultural rights, including the right tostep to gauging the situation of thedevelopment

conference, and will aid you upon writing-8 July 2019 (UNHRC)

a resolution. Coming with a copy of yournation’s

position

paper

as

well

as

“the unjust or prejudicial treatment of

preparing a few clauses for a resolutiondifferent categories of people, especiallywould help you in writing working papers

on the grounds of race, age, or sex”151

and draft resolutions.

domestic work

The chairs would also recommend
delegatestopractice

their 1-minuteopening speeches beforehand, as it will
boost your self-esteem and help you​家事work in private households that are usually“without clear terms of employment”152
employee ​従業員

“a person employed for wages or salary,practice addressing a crowd. Make sure toespecially at non-executive level”153

speak in a loud and clear voice, otherwise

employer ​雇用者

chairs may have to ask delegates to raise
their voices.
Finally,a person that employs people​雇用

employment
makesure youhave“the state of having paid work”154​財政

enough information ready so that you canfinanceactively participate in the conference as a“the management of large amounts ofdelegation of your assigned nation. Giving

money, especially by governments or large

the conference your full attention andcompanies”155

effort will definitely pay you back with angender bias

unforgettable MUN experience.

“inclination towards or prejudice against​性別の偏見one gender”156

Vocabulary List
agendaunjust treatment of people based on their​議題“a list of items to be discussed at a formal
meeting”149
conservative​保守的“averse to change or innovation andholding traditional values”150
discrimination​

差別​Lexico, “agenda”, 2019https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/agenda
Accessed 30 Aug 2019
150
Lexico, “conservative” 2019,https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/conservative
Accessed 30 Aug 2019149

gender discrimination ​性差別
gendergender equality
151

​男女平等

Lexico, “discrimination”, 2019https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/discrimination​ Accessed 30 Aug 2019152
ILO, “Who are domestic workers?”, 2019https://www.ilo.org/global/docs/WCMS_209773/lang--en/index.htm​ Accessed 30 Aug 2019
153
Lexico, “employee”, 2019,https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/employee
Accessed 30 Aug 2019
154
Lexico, “employment”, 2019https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/employment
Accessed 30 Aug 2019
155
Lexico, “finance”, 2019https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/finance
Accessed 30 Aug 2019156
Lexico, “gender bias”, 2019https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/gender_bias
Accessed 30 Aug 2019

“the state in which access to rights or“a system of society or government inopportunities is unaffected by gender”157

which men hold the power and women are

gender stereotype ​性別の固定観念

largely excluded from it”163“awidely

held

but

fixed

and

syn) male dominant society 男性優位社会​貧困

oversimplified image or idea”158 of apovertyspecific gender“the state of being extremely poor”164

household​家庭prosper​（経済的に）繁栄する“a house and its occupants regarded as a

“succeed in material terms; be financiallyunit”159

successful”165

legislation​法制

racial discrimination“laws, considered collectively”160
maternity leave​出産・育児休暇​人種差別

unjust treatment of people based on their
race
​採用

“a period of absence from work granted torecruitment

a mother before and after the birth of her“the process of finding people to work for161

child”

a company or become a new member of anmale counterpart ​対応する男性

organization”166

men serving the same purpose in the sameself-employment

situation as compared to women“the state of working for oneself as apaternity leave ​父親の育児休暇

freelance or the owner of a business rather“a period of absence from work granted tothan for an employer”167

a father after or shortly before the birth ofsexual harassment ​性的嫌がらせ

his child”162
patriarchy ​父権社会​自営業“behaviour characterized by the making of
unwelcomeandinappropriate

sexualremarks or

physical advances in a

157

Lexico, “gender equality”, 2019https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/gender_equality​ Accessed 30 Aug 2019
158
Lexico, “stereotype”, 2019https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/stereotype
Accessed 2019
159
Lexico, “household”, 2019https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/household
Accessed 30 Aug 2019160
Lexico, “legislation”, 2019https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/legislation
Accessed 30 Aug 2019
161
Lexico, “maternity leave”, 2019https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/maternity_leave​ Accessed 30 Aug 2019162
Lexico, “paternity leave”, 2019https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/paternity_leave​ Accessed Aug 30 2019

163

Lexico, “patriarchy”, 2019https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/patriarchy
Accessed 30 Aug 2019164
Lexico, “poverty”, 2019https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/poverty
Accessed 30 Aug 2019165
Lexico, “prosper”, 2019https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/prosper
Accessed 30 Aug 2019
166
Cambridge Dictionary, “recruitment”, 2019https://dictionary.cambridge.org/ja/dictionary/engli
sh/recruitment​ Accessed 30 Aug 2019
167
Lexico, “self-employment”, 2019https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/self-employ
ment​ Accessed 30 Aug 2019

workplace or other professional or social
situation”168
social norms​社会規範“the unwritten rules of behavior that areconsidered acceptable in a group orsociety”169
underage marriage​未成年者の結婚“a marriage of a girl or boy before the ageof 18 and refers to both formal marriages
and informal unions in which children
under the age of 18 live with a partner as if
married”170
workforce ​労働力“the people engaged in or available forwork, either in a country or area or in aparticular firm or industry”171

168

Lexico, “sexual harassment”, 2019https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/sexual_harassment​ Accessed 30 Aug 2019169
Your Dictionary, “Social Norm Examples”,
2019
https://examples.yourdictionary.com/social-norm-e
xamples.html​ Accessed 30 Aug 2019170
UNICEF, “Child marriage”, 2019https://www.unicef.org/rosa/what-we-do/child-prot
ection/child-marriage​ Accessed 30 Aug 2019171
Lexico, “workforce”, 2019https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/workforce
Accessed 30 Aug 2019

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