Same work, different wage leads to gender pay gap

Women tend to live longer than men. If women are paid less but live longer than men, when these women retire, they will have less savings and they face an increased risk of poverty and financial insecurity. Phofo 123rf.com

Elaine Lim, 36, and Zack Ng, 31, are former colleagues. Both of them were working as designers in an advertising and multimedia agency in Kuala Lumpur. But even though they had the same qualifications and number of years of experience, their salaries were vastly different.

“It was disappointing to learn that my salary was 30% lower than my colleague’s when in terms of qualifications and years of experience, we were equal. We joined the agency around the same time ... I even joined a month before him,” says Lim.