• Our Story
  • What We Do
  • Our Team
  • Legal
  • Contact Us
  • The Youth Leaders Debate
  • Anonymous: A Million Men
Write for Us
Shout Out UK
  • Politics
    • All
    • Brexit 2016
    • Elections
    • GE2017
    • Law
    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    Boris Johnson: The undisputed leader

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    Increasing the retirement age will cost young people their future

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    General Election 2019 LIVE Coverage

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    Who’s the greenest of them all this election?

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    Hindsight: What Can Teens Learn From Older Generations This Election?

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    A man that gloats over the humiliating details of a person’s death mustn’t get his hands on our NHS

    Trending Tags

    • Young People
    • Women
    • Welfare
    • Theresa May
    • LabourConference2018
    • ConservativeConference2018
  • World News
    • All
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Australia
    • Europe
    • N. America
    • S. America
    • United Kingdom
    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    Boris Johnson: The undisputed leader

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    Increasing the retirement age will cost young people their future

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    General Election 2019 LIVE Coverage

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    Who’s the greenest of them all this election?

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    A man that gloats over the humiliating details of a person’s death mustn’t get his hands on our NHS

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    The awkward phenomenon of modern slavery

    Trending Tags

    • West
    • USA
    • Syria
    • US presidential election
    • Terrorism
  • Money
    • All
    • Business
    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    The awkward phenomenon of modern slavery

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    Money Saving Tips When Moving House

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    New Year, New Car: Which Make And Model Is Right For You?

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    Supporting Local Businesses At Christmas

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    Does Following A Passion Make A Good Business?

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    How You Can Make More Of Your Home Business: Successful Tips To Get Your Biz Thriving

    Trending Tags

    • Advice
    • University
    • Unemployment
    • Technology
  • Culture, Travel and Sport
    • All
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Media
    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    Who’s the greenest of them all this election?

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    Money Saving Tips When Moving House

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    New Year, New Car: Which Make And Model Is Right For You?

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    Disappearance of British GP practises

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    Substance Abuse: Prevention Tips For Students

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    How You Can Make More Of Your Home Business: Successful Tips To Get Your Biz Thriving

    Trending Tags

    • Motorsport
    • Cars
    • Travel
    • Food
    • Music
  • Reviews
    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    Review: Race Room Simulator

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    Knock Down the House: The women making America great

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    How The Favourite makes a refreshing change for queer women in film

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    Max Polyakov and Association Noosphere hold an engineering BestRoboFest 2018

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    Netflix’s Wild, Wild Country captures America’s ongoing xenophobia

  • Political Literacy Education Programmes
    • For Schools
    • For Individuals
  • Get Involved
    • Write for us
    • Opportunities
    • Events
No Result
View All Result
  • Politics
    • All
    • Brexit 2016
    • Elections
    • GE2017
    • Law
    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    Boris Johnson: The undisputed leader

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    Increasing the retirement age will cost young people their future

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    General Election 2019 LIVE Coverage

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    Who’s the greenest of them all this election?

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    Hindsight: What Can Teens Learn From Older Generations This Election?

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    A man that gloats over the humiliating details of a person’s death mustn’t get his hands on our NHS

    Trending Tags

    • Young People
    • Women
    • Welfare
    • Theresa May
    • LabourConference2018
    • ConservativeConference2018
  • World News
    • All
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Australia
    • Europe
    • N. America
    • S. America
    • United Kingdom
    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    Boris Johnson: The undisputed leader

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    Increasing the retirement age will cost young people their future

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    General Election 2019 LIVE Coverage

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    Who’s the greenest of them all this election?

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    A man that gloats over the humiliating details of a person’s death mustn’t get his hands on our NHS

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    The awkward phenomenon of modern slavery

    Trending Tags

    • West
    • USA
    • Syria
    • US presidential election
    • Terrorism
  • Money
    • All
    • Business
    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    The awkward phenomenon of modern slavery

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    Money Saving Tips When Moving House

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    New Year, New Car: Which Make And Model Is Right For You?

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    Supporting Local Businesses At Christmas

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    Does Following A Passion Make A Good Business?

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    How You Can Make More Of Your Home Business: Successful Tips To Get Your Biz Thriving

    Trending Tags

    • Advice
    • University
    • Unemployment
    • Technology
  • Culture, Travel and Sport
    • All
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Media
    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    Who’s the greenest of them all this election?

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    Money Saving Tips When Moving House

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    New Year, New Car: Which Make And Model Is Right For You?

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    Disappearance of British GP practises

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    Substance Abuse: Prevention Tips For Students

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    How You Can Make More Of Your Home Business: Successful Tips To Get Your Biz Thriving

    Trending Tags

    • Motorsport
    • Cars
    • Travel
    • Food
    • Music
  • Reviews
    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    Review: Race Room Simulator

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    Knock Down the House: The women making America great

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    How The Favourite makes a refreshing change for queer women in film

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    Max Polyakov and Association Noosphere hold an engineering BestRoboFest 2018

    Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

    Netflix’s Wild, Wild Country captures America’s ongoing xenophobia

  • Political Literacy Education Programmes
    • For Schools
    • For Individuals
  • Get Involved
    • Write for us
    • Opportunities
    • Events
No Result
View All Result
Shout Out UK
No Result
View All Result
Home Education Society

Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

Tofe Ayeni by Tofe Ayeni
25/04/2018
0
Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

MATERNITY LEAVE red Rubber Stamp over a white background.

11
SHARES
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

‘From 2017, any organisation that has 250 or more employees must publish and report specific figures about their gender pay gap’. Although the gender pay gap has reduced over the past few decades, the gap is still evident, which is a problem for every feminist ( and logical-thinking person) in the world.


The gender pay gap in 2018 was published earlier this month, and revealed gaping disparities between what men and women are paid in various large firms such as Apple, RyanAir, and JP Morgan. It made it clear that equal pay is something that we are still fighting for.

First though, I would like to clear up a few misconceptions about the gender pay gap. Many believe that this refers to cases where men and women are doing the exact same job, and where women are being paid less. As a result of this misunderstanding, some argue that there is no longer much of a gender pay gap since such things rarely happen now.

Although it is true that in most companies it would be difficult to successfully get away with paying a woman less than a man who is doing the exact same job, this regrettably still happens in certain sectors — show business being the most obvious example. One well-known instance of this was when Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Adams earned far less than their co-stars Christian Bale and Jeremy Renner on American Hustle. This should strike anyone who watched the film as odd, as they were both leading characters.

Further, even though this type of gender pay gap is limited to certain sectors nowadays, the pay gap is still a very big deal. Why? The real problem with the pay disparity between men and women is that men and women do not have the same roles. In the UK:

‘Companies with equal numbers of female and male directors, or with female-led boards, were rare at not quite 4%’.

It is clear that men still hold the foremost positions in companies — they are the directors, managers, CEOs — and so naturally, they are paid more than the women who are their subordinates.

The fact that men hold these high-ranking roles is not down to them being on average smarter than women. It is because people make certain decisions, such as not promoting women in their twenties, for fear that they will start having children and take maternity leave — something that is deemed damaging for the company. This is despite the fact that men can be fathers, with their own families, so one would think that there ought to be greater understanding.

It is inexcusable that women are missing out on promotions because men are predicting their future. Starting a family should not be a reason to ignore a woman’s potential because of her biological propensity towards childbirth. And we certainly should never force women to ‘act more like men’ in order for them to receive the same chances. Not having children (especially when there is a desire to) so that you can stay working for as long as your male counterparts does not make women more like men, since men are still able to have all the children they want.

When I was younger, I was strongly against positive discrimination. I wanted to achieve things because I was the best, so I could feel that I deserved them. I certainly did not want anything handed to me because I am female. However, I now see that to bridge this gap, positive discrimination is necessary. This of course does not mean  that we should be giving women jobs they are not equipped to do, just to meet a certain quota. It means that if you need 90 per cent on a test to get the job, and a man gets 95 per cent while the woman gets 91 per cent — give that job to the woman. They are both capable of doing it well, they both achieved the requisite mark.

Apologies to the man who obtained the higher result, but this is something your male ancestors should have considered before helping to create the gap that we now have a duty to bridge.

Positive discrimination is needed. It can be a very useful strategy in bridging certain types of minority discriminatory gaps.

Tags: discriminationmaternity leavemenWomenwomen's pay gap
Share11TweetShare
Previous Post

Why Do Financially Savvy People Avoid Going It Alone?

Next Post

Big Tech Has Driven Unprecedented Innovation - But Privacy Matters

Tofe Ayeni

Tofe Ayeni

Next Post
Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

Big Tech Has Driven Unprecedented Innovation - But Privacy Matters

Stay Connected

  • 13.2k Fans
  • 12.8k Followers
  • 4.2k Followers
  • 1.7k Subscribers
  • 3k Subscribers

Subscribe to our mailing list to receives daily updates direct to your inbox!

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

Top 8 Brexit lies debunked

01/11/2019
Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

General Election 2019 LIVE Coverage

12/12/2019
Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

England rugby’s private school problem

03/11/2019
Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

Our response to the Daily Mail article regarding our work with Drillminister

09/12/2019
Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

‘OK Boomer’ – Empowerment or Ageism?

2
Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

Northern Ireland allows abortion and gay marriage by default

1
Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

Boris Johnson: The undisputed leader

13/12/2019
Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

Increasing the retirement age will cost young people their future

12/12/2019
Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

General Election 2019 LIVE Coverage

12/12/2019
Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

Who’s the greenest of them all this election?

10/12/2019

Recent News

Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

Boris Johnson: The undisputed leader

13/12/2019
Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

Increasing the retirement age will cost young people their future

12/12/2019
Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

General Election 2019 LIVE Coverage

12/12/2019
Maternity Leave: What really explains the gender pay gap

Who’s the greenest of them all this election?

10/12/2019
Load More
Shout Out UK

We are a multi-award winning youth education brand that provides world class training and programmes on Political & Media literacy via our interactive platform.

  • Advertising on Shout Out UK
  • Political Literacy Programme
  • Editorial Guide
  • Legal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions

Subscribe to our mailing list to receives daily updates direct to your inbox!

  • About
  • Webmail
  • Our Team
  • Advertise
  • Legal
  • Contact Us

ShoutOutUK LTD. (company no. 09717655) or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Politics
  • World News
  • Money
  • Culture, Travel and Sport
  • Reviews
  • Political Literacy Programmes
    • For Schools
    • For Adults
    • Election Pack
    • EPlatform Login
  • Get Involved
    • Write for us
    • Opportunities
    • Events

ShoutOutUK LTD. (company no. 09717655) or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.

Necessary Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.