The International Labor Organization has developed a new indicator that can better detect unemployed people wishing to work than current methods of measuring unemployment.
Two days before International Women’s Day, this is disturbing information. Women find it more difficult than previously thought to access work, and the gap in working conditions and pay has barely narrowed between the sexes in 20 years, the UN warned on Monday 6 March.
The International Labor Organization (ILO) has developed a new indicator that can better detect unemployed people wishing to work than current methods of measuring unemployment. “It paints a much bleaker picture of the situation of women in the world of work than the more commonly used unemployment rate”the UN agency said in a statement.
“New data shows that women still have a much harder time finding jobs than men”explains the ILO, adding that according to its new data, 15% of women of working age in the world would like to work but do not have a job, compared to 10.5% of men. “This gender gap has remained virtually unchanged for two decades”insists the agency.
In contrast, the official unemployment rates for women and men are very similar. According to the ILO, this is because the criteria used to determine whether someone should be officially considered unemployed tend to disproportionately exclude women.
The obstacle of domestic work
The ILO stresses that personal and family responsibilities, including unpaid domestic work, affect women disproportionately. Such activities, she says, often prevent women not only from working, but also from actively seeking employment or being available for work on short notice. So many criteria to be considered as unemployed.
The agency finds that the jobs deficit is particularly severe in low-income countries, where almost a quarter of women cannot find jobs. For men, the corresponding rate is less than 17%.
“Globally, for every dollar of labor income that men earn, women only earn 51 cents”, adds the ILO. The pay gap varies widely across regions, with women earning only 33 cents per dollar in low-income countries, but 58 cents per dollar in high-income countries. “This striking income disparity is due both to women’s lower level of employment and their lower average wages when employed”according to the ILO.