Women lose up to a million dollars because they're not paid the same for equal work

If we were to eliminate the gender wage gap for women in the US today, they would have an entire additional year of child care paid for; a year of tuition and fees at a four-year, public university paid for; more than nine months of rent, seven months of health insurance, and a year's worth of food paid for; and the ability to pay off their student loan debt in four years. Photo: 123rf.com

As costs for housing, food, fuel and other basic necessities continue to rise, women continue to bear an inequitable financial burden. The World Economic Forum released its Global Gender Gap report for 2022 in July, noting that the effects of the pandemic and global conflict have slowed progress when it comes to gender parity.

"The cost-of-living crisis is impacting women disproportionately after the shock of labour market losses during the pandemic and the continued inadequacy of care infrastructure," Saadia Zahidi, managing director at the Geneva-based think tank, said in a released statement."In face of a weak recovery, government and business must make two sets of efforts: targeted policies to support women's return to the workforce and women's talent development in the industries of the future. Otherwise, we risk eroding the gains of the last decades permanently and losing out on the future economic returns of diversity."In the United States, advocacy organisations have long been working with communities and legislators to address the underlying issues in the gender wage gap and close that disparity.