G R A C E B U L L A B A U G H - V A L M I K PAT E L - G A L I T D E S H E
WOMEN Worldwide Working Women
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US AND CANADA LATIN AMERICA EUROPE AFRICA MIDDLE EAST SOUTH ASIA EAST ASIA IS THE WAGE GAP A MYTH? SPOTLIGHT ON SUCCESSFUL WOMEN AROUND THE WORLD
This zine addresses the many various issues that women around the world face in the workforce every day. The fact is that even though women possess the same capacity to succeed as men, they often battle deeply-rooted misogynistic beliefs and behaviors that create unfair workplace experiences for them. Injustices such as gender-based wage gaps, sexual harassment, female unemployment, and
a general assumption that women are incapable of doing certain “masculine” professions are just a few unfair conditions that still limit women’s success in the workforce to this day. By encouraging awareness of these issues, we hope to stimulate thought and outrage over these systemic prejudices so that the situation of women around the world may continue improve in the near future.
United States and Canada SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE Experience of harassment has decreased over the years from its peak of 32% of women in late 1992 and mid-1994 to 24% in 2011.
Also, more sexual harassments are being reported in the workplace, with 41% in 2011, compared to only 33% in 1994.
DID YOU KNOW?
-1 in 4 women will report sexual harassment in the workplace. -1 in 10 men report to have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS! Sexual harassment in the workplace is considered sex discrimination, and it violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. WHAT YOU CAN DO -If you feel safe speaking directly to the person harassing you, you can explain what behavior is bothering you and ask them to stop. -If your employer has a sexual harassment policy in place, write a complaint.
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-Go to your supervisor or human resources. -File a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission within 6 months of the harassment if you have a Title VII discrimination complaint.
CURRENT EVENTS: US NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM GENDER PAY GAP: Last year, the US women’s team produced $20 million more in revenue than the men’s team. Yet their players make four times less.
Top women players make around $70,000. Top Male players make around $250,000.
NEIGHBORS TO THE NORTH: CANADA In 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gave Canada its first equally represented cabinet, with 15 male and 15 female ministers!
When asked about his reasoning for setting up his cabinet in such a way, Trudeau replied: “Because it’s 2015.” NICE JOB TRUDEAU!
This cabinet is also ethnically diverse, including 2 aboriginal and 3 Sikh members!
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Latin America WAGE GAP
Women earn between income.
60 percent and 90 percent of men’s average
FIELDS OF WORK
60 percent of women are included in the informal sector as opposed to only 48 percent of men.
POLITICAL POWER
Josefina Vazquez Mota is first woman ever to serve as Mexico’s Secretary of Education and Secretary of Social Development, and is the first woman ever to run for president.
POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS
Michelle Bachelet was the president of Chile .
-Income equality law -Expand educational opportunities for women
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Europe PAY GAP IN EUROPE
European countries also see a difference between the average salaries of men and women. Management positions are overwhelmingly held by men. Men are promoted more often than women in every sector. Less than 4% of European CEO’s are women.
FEMALE UNEMPLOYMENT
In 2013, Britain achieved its highest female employment rate ever recorded: 67.2%. Unfortunately, this exciting growth in female participation in the workforce coincided with an increase in the pay gap.
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This increase in the pay gap may be due to more British women declaring themselves as self-employed. Self-employed women tend to work extensive hours for less than the minimum wage. Many more women identify as self-employed than men.
DOUBLE DUTY FOR WOMEN
Even though more and more women are joining the workforce in Europe, studies show that women in heterosexual relationships still do about twothirds of the housework in their homes. -This same study by Europe’s Economic and Social Research Council also showed that this unequal distribution of housework between men and women can also be detrimental to men. The men who claim that their wives do most of the housework often also complained of greater family conflict. Aw, those poor guys! -According to this report, nordic countries have the fairest division of household labor. Sweden shows the greatest equality, with women still doing two thirds of the housework. -Southern European countries report women doing the greatest share of housework, with Greece topping the list at four fifths of the work being done by women.
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Africa
Sub saharan Africa has smallest gap between genders for full time employment.
WOMEN IN CERTAIN FIELDS
-Majority of women make up the informal workforce -Heavily agricultural- “women known to grow 80% of food in Africa” -Improvement- women continue to move into different professions, including those traditionally seen as male jobs, such as engineering and architecture.
EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION/MATERNITY Women often suffer employment discrimination because they need to take time off for maternity leave or when a child is sick.
SEXUAL HARASSMENT
Career women often have to work harder at their jobs to keep even with their male counterparts
“On June 4, 2014, a new law was approved by then interim president, Adly Mansour, criminalising sexual harassment for the first time in modern Egyptian history.”
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Middle East
DID YOU KNOW?
-In every Arab country except for Yemen and Morocco, female literacy rates are pretty much equal to those of men. -The number of male and female college graduates in the Middle East is fairly equal, with slightly more female college graduates than male (although women do make up a greater percent of the population). -Arab women outperform Arab men in hard sciences. Also, the number of women graduates in sciences is greater in the Middle East than in Western Europe. -In the United Arab Emirates, Dubai’s Sheikh Muhammad enacted a plan to force all public boards to be composed 50% of women.
EDUCATED, BUT UNABLE TO WORK
Although women in the Middle East and North Africa are receiving greater education than ever before, workplace participation unfortunately lies at only 25% – about half of the world average in 2013.” The reasons for this disparity are the legal and social barriers that are still present against Middle Eastern women.
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South Asia
FULL TIME EMPLOYMENT GAP
South Asia has the largest gender employment gap in the world, doubling the worldwide average. Women’s participation in the workforce is dropping in India.
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WOMEN IN RESEARCH
PROPORTION OF SOUTH ASIAN WOMEN RESEARCHERS TO MEN BY SUBJECT
29 % 27 % 25 % 25 % 22 % 18 % 17 % 16 % 16 % 15 %
ARTS AND HUMANITIES
BIOCHEMISTRY, GENETICS, AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
SOCIAL SCIENCE
HEALTH PROFESSIONS
BUSINESS MANAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTING
PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY
MATHEMATICS
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCES
ENERGY
ENGINEERING
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East Asia
DID YOU KNOW?
-Women make up 44.7 percent of the work force, but just 25.1 percent of people with positions of “responsibility,” -Fewer than 1 in 10 board members of China’s top 300 companies are women. -In general, men are preferred for white-collar managerial jobs while women are preferred in sales and clerical positions. -In Japan, did you know: women are “birth-giving machines.” Comment by the president. - 9 years ago? ‘ -Japanese women now outpace American women in labor force participation. 64% of Japanese women are in the workforce while 63% of American women are in the workforce.
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Although statistical evidence suggests a clear gap between the average salaries of male and female workers of the same field, many skeptics continue to insist that the wage gap is a myth. They claim that the reason women seem to make less than their male counterparts is not due to sexism, but rather due to the professional choices generally made by women. For example, they argue that women choose to work in less lucrative fields, work fewer hours, or stay home with their children. Ok then. Let’s focus on the medical field. In America the majority of doctors are male and make very high salaries, often well into 6 figures. This seems to be appropriate, because doctors are very important and must get a lot of education and training to perform their jobs, right? Well, in Russia, things are a little different. The medical field there is actually dominated by women.
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And, in Russia, the average salary for a medical professional is approximately 28,000 rubles a month, which is less than $12,000 a year! That is about the same amount as teachers, secretaries, and janitors are paid there. So, what does this show us? Women are not paid less on average because the professional choices they make devalue them. It is actually because simply being women makes their work less valuable. If male doctors in America are work 6 figures, then female doctors should be worth the same. It doesn’t matter what career women choose. If a field is primarily made up of women, then will lose its respect and its value. Just because we choose to ignore a problem, doesn’t make it any less real.
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Spotlight ON SUCCESSFUL WOMEN AROUND THE WORLD
Aung San Suu Kyi
ACCOMPLISHMENTS: First State Counsellor of Myanmar, Leader of the National League for Democracy, First female Minister of Foreign Affairs of Myanmar, Nobel Peace Prize Winner “The education and empowerment of women throughout the world cannot fail to result in a more caring, tolerant, just and peaceful life for all.” Speech, NGO Forum on Women, August 31, 1995
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Leymah Gbowee
ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Leader of Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace, which helped end the Second Liberian Civil War in 2003; Nobel Peace Prize winner “It’s time for women to stop being politely angry.” Interview, Women in the World summit, March 9, 2012
Hillary Clinton
Christine Lagarde
ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Presidential Candidate of the United States, Secretary of State, NY Senator, First Lady “I have always believed that women are not victims, we are agents of change, we are drivers of progress, we are makers of peace — all we need is a fighting chance.” Women in the World Summit, April 5, 2013
ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund; French Minister of Economic Affairs, Finance and Employment “Excluding women simply makes no economic sense—and including women can be a tremendous boon to the 21st century global economy.” Speech, Keynote Address, September 12, 2014
Dilma Rousseff
Malala Yousafzai
ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 36th President of Brazil, Chief of Staff, Minister of Energy, Cofounder of the Democratic Labour Party “I would like for fathers and mothers to look into their daughters’ eyes today and tell them: ‘Yes, women can.’ I would like to register my first post-election commitment: to honour Brazilian women so that this unprecedented fact becomes a natural event.” Speech, Election Victory Meeting, November 1, 2010
ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Youngestever Nobel Prize laureate, One of Time magazine’s “The 100 Most Influential People In The World” (2013, 2014, and 2015), women’s rights advocate “I tell my story, not because it is unique, but because it is not. It is the story of many girls.” Speech, Nobel Lecture, December 20, 2014
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PHOTOS: Cover http://www.lawpracticetoday.org US and Canada http://media2.s-nbcnews.com/ Middle East http://c.fastcompany.net/ East Asia http://theawesomedaily.com/ Africa http://blog.amanzitravel.com Europe http://cdn.bigbangfish.com Latin America http://contenido.com http://s2.stabroeknews.com/ Is The Wage Gap a Myth? http://www.nuemd.com/ SPOTLIGHT ON POWERFUL WOMEN http://static.parade.com/ http://artcreationforever.com/ http://harvardmagazine.com/ http://www.utne.com/ http://a4.files.biography.com/ http://www.chronicle.co.zw/ SOURCES: US and Canada -http://viralnews1.top/us-soccers-wagegap-is-americas-shame-les-carpenter/ -http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/11/one-in-four-u-s-women-reports-workplace-harassment/ -http://www.aauw.org/what-we-do/legal-resources/know-your-rights-at-work/workplace-sexual-harassment/ -http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/ nov/04/canada-cabinet-gender-diversity-justin-trudeau Latin America -http://www.huffingtonpost. com/2014/01/23/gender-inequality-latin-america_n_4653710.html -http://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanielparishflannery/2012/03/26/in-mexico-andaround-the-globe-women-are-moving-intosenior-leadership-positions/#51bff51b619d
Europe -http://ec.europa.eu/justice/gender-equality/files/gender_pay_gap/gpg_eu_factsheet_2015_en.pdf -http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/ home-news/more-women-have-jobs-inbritain-than-ever-before-but-figures-showthe-gender-pay-gap-is-rising-too-9139154. html - h t t p : / / w w w. n y d a i l y n e w s . c o m / l i f e style/working-women-europe-housework-study-article-1.1406791 Africa -http://archive.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu37we/uu37we0t.htm -http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/06/new-law-end-sexual-harassment-egypt-2014612101924323684.html Middle East -http://middleeastvoices.voanews. com/2013/04/insight-women-in-the-workforce-in-the-arab-world-48868/ -https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/ report-female-workforce-participation-25-percent-mideast South Asia -https://www.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/women_researchers_jan15_print. pdf -http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2013/09/27/more-bad-news-forsouth-asias-female-workforce/ East Asia -http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/21/ world/asia/china-women-lag-in-workforce-especially-in-top-jobs.html?_r=0 - h t t p s : / / w w w. w a s h i n g t o n p o s t . c o m / news/wonk/wp/2015/10/07/how-american-women-fell-behind-japanese-women-in-the-workplace/ Is the Wage Gap a Myth? https://cratesandribbons.com/2013/12/13/ patriarchys-magic-trick-how-anything-perceived-as-womens-work-immediately-sheds-its-value/