The equal economy: balancing the scales in a world that devalues the work of women
If you read my blog regularly (hi, mum), you’ll know I’m all about practical advice and tips. But for this post, we’re hanging up our practical pants and taking a trip. We’re going to do a bit of what (I’m told) they call ‘blue-sky thinking’.
The topic? Women at work. As a woman with few responsibilities beyond some needy houseplants, I’m not the right person to be offering practical advice to working mums, working carers and the many other women who juggle countless roles every day.
Dreaming of a world post-patriarchy
So, what’s the point of this post? I want to imagine what’s possible. I want to dare to dream of a world beyond the patriarchy. My guess is that everything started out as a dream once: potato waffles, Changing Rooms, the Roman Empire. It’s like your cheesy inspirational quote-posting mate on Facebook says: if you reach for the moon, you’ll land in the stars.
Before the #NotAllMen brigade get snippy in my comments, this is a light-hearted take. I’m no policymaker, I just want to see change. Big change. And I’m thinking in broad strokes, not tiny details. So don’t come at me with your “How the hell do you see that working?” comments. Just don’t.
The vicious cycle of inequality
The thing with inequality is that this shit is self-perpetuating. Women statistically take on more unpaid labour than men. This means we don’t have time to run companies, become MPs or join boards of directors. To put it in simple, everyday terms, when we’re statistically more likely to be hanging out laundry, caring for offspring or remembering nan’s birthday, we’re less likely to squeeze in the hours of studying, interning and office face time needed to rise through the ranks. Naturally, therefore, we earn less. And with fewer faces in positions of power, society remains convinced that we aren’t capable of those roles, that our ventures don’t deserve funding, that we should earn less. Talk about a vicious cycle.
And then there’s the invisible labour. If you’ve never heard of the mental load, let this cartoon fill you in.
Even though motherhood is the single most important job any human being will ever do (no mums, no new humans), society devalues motherhood. Our very own Home Secretary, Priti Patel, recently deemed mothers ‘economically inactive’, ignoring the fact that the reason some of the adult population can be economically active is because the rest stay at home with the kids.
We need big change to shake things up and break the cycle. Here are some of the inequalities women in the UK still face and my fantasy dreamland equality policies. Yes they’re extreme, but so is inequality. And if they make you feel uncomfortable, well, good. Change is never comfy.
Note: this article focuses on gender inequality, but I’d advocate just as hard for similar playing-field levellers for people of colour and other groups that experience inequality.
For every £1 a man earns, a woman earns just 82p
Give every woman a 20% pay rise, more if they have children. More if they care for other relatives.
Women earn more. They spend more. Good for the economy. Happy days.
Women’s pensions are on average £27 less than men per week (or £1,400 per year)
Bump up women’s pension pots by £27 per week. More if they have children. More if they have ever spent time caring for other relatives.
Mothers and carers receive an employee-style pension for every year they spend working as a mother or carer.
Women carry out more unpaid work than men. Women’s unpaid labour is worth £700 billion to the UK economy every year
Demand equal unpaid labour from men and women or compensate accordingly.
Society expects men and women to contribute evenly in terms of time, energy and mental load to the unpaid economy. That includes replenishing toilet rolls, driving the kids to ballet class, deciding what to get Great Aunt June for her birthday, writing the shopping list and taking out the bins. People who work above their quota are compensated by the state.
(Calculate the value of the unpaid work you do here.)
The employment rate for women with dependent children is 74%, compared to 93% for men.
In 2018/19, of 679,106 babies born in England and Wales, only 10,700 individuals claimed Shared Parental Leave and Pay
Shared Parental Leave as standard
Shared Parental Leave and Pay is compulsory. And access to affordable childcare is standard.
Only 26.7% of FTSE 350 company board members are women.
Only 23% of businesses with no employees are led by women.
Women lead around 1/5 of SMEs but receive only 1% of venture funding.
Only 32% of MPs are women.
Potential-based job specs
Job specs are based solely on potential. Those based on experience and qualifications unfairly exclude women and people of colour who often have less access to these indicators of skill or interest.
During the pandemic, women shouldered 2/3 more childcare than men
A union for working women/mothers
There is a national union for mothers. They advocate for the rights of mothers in all spaces they occupy.
Are there any you’d add? I’d love to hear from you.
Sources
UK Government Gender Equality Monitor