Pakistan continues to face a major gender pay hole (GPG), with ladies incomes significantly lower than males, in keeping with a current report by the Worldwide Labour Organisation (ILO).
The disparity in wages locations Pakistan among the many international locations with the best GPG globally, significantly when it comes to employment charges between women and men.
The report reveals that Pakistan’s GPG stands at 25% based mostly on hourly wages, with ladies incomes Rs750 for each Rs1,000 earned by males. When contemplating month-to-month wages, the hole will increase to roughly 30%, partly because of ladies working fewer hours on common.
The report highlights {that a} substantial portion of this hole can’t be attributed to variations in elements equivalent to training, age, or abilities, suggesting potential discrimination within the labour market.
Compared to different South Asian nations, Pakistan’s GPG stays notably larger. Sri Lanka’s GPG based mostly on hourly wages is 22%, whereas Nepal’s stands at 18%, and Bangladesh studies a detrimental hole of -5%.
Nevertheless, the report notes a slight discount in Pakistan’s GPG through the years, with the determine having been as excessive as 33% in 2018.
The GPG in Pakistan is much less pronounced within the formal financial system, the place it’s virtually negligible. Nevertheless, the hole widens considerably within the casual and family sectors, with disparities exceeding 40%.
The report additionally signifies that compliance with labour legal guidelines within the formal sector, particularly within the public sector, helps slim the pay hole.
Regardless of worldwide conventions just like the ILO’s Equal Remuneration Conference (1951), which requires equal pay for equal work, the gender pay hole persists, underscoring ongoing inequality between women and men within the workforce.