(MENAFN- Morocco World News) A new report by the International Labor Organization (ILO) released on Monday said it could take up to 70 years to close the global gender wage gap if current trends continue.
In the report the ILO estimated the global gender wage gap to be 23 percent meaning women earn 77 percent of what men earn. 'The gap cannot be explained solely by differences in education or age' the report said. '[They] are also linked to the undervaluation of the work that women undertake and of the skills required in female-dominated sectors or occupations the practice of discrimination and the need for women to take career breaks to attend to additional care responsibilities for instance after the birth of a child.' The ILO's analysis of recent progress in closing the gap showed that moves towards wage parity can 'mostly be attributed to explicit policy actions to address gender imbalances in the labor market rather than to general improvements in living standards.' The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) experience the largest gender-based gaps in employment the report added. The regional employment gap which exceeds 50 percent will lead to further gaps in pension coverage in the future the ILO said. 'Low female labor participation rates…weigh significantly on women's effective pension coverage in Northern Africa the Arab States and Southern Asia where the proportions of older women in receipt of a pension are inferior to 10 per cent' the report read. In addition the female youth unemployment rate in MENA which hovers around 44 percent is double the male youth unemployment rate.
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