Being the givers of life and living longer aren't the pros they are cracked up to be, not when it comes to being financially independent and stable.
Closing the gender pay gap isn’t enough in the need of gender equality, in relation to all thing’s money.
Women do not need to be paid equally to men.
They need to be paid 30% MORE.
As a chronically ill woman and mother, being self-employed enabled me to access my right to earn alongside providing the flexibility to manage my health and family needs.
But this comes with significant problems relating to future proofing and real-time earnings.
But, whilst being employed does provide more protection, I would still be at a disadvantage.
Because the gender pay gap isn’t just about closing the pay gap.
Why?…
We have a break in service due to being the child bearer. First there’s the pregnancy, which we have no idea how that will go. Then post-birth most women either take a break from working or return following maternity leave (if they get it) on a part-time basis.
Women predominately manage the children, the home and all other additional needs on top of their career, putting us at greater risk of exhaustion affecting our health and the potential need for reducing hours further or taking another break due to ill health.
As our parental demands reduce, we hit the Menopause. Whilst Menopause is not an illness, the biological change in our bodies can have a debilitating impact, leading to a further career break, or reducing hours further and in some instances retiring early.
And women live longer than men, meaning our earnings and pensions needs to protect us for longer.
Then there’s the tax on female biology to consider. Whilst our biology and the responsibilities that come with it, equates to us earning less, society financially penalises women for being a woman.
Until 2020, we paid tax on menstrual products.
But we still pay tax on every other biological need.
We pay tax on everything maternity, from clothes to essential items to support. We don’t tax children’s clothes, but do tax clothes needed to accommodate growing a human inside our bodies.
We pay tax on bras. If the cost of bras wasn’t high enough, they are then taxed, including feeding bras. Thankfully, mastectomy bras are not taxed as they are classed as a medical need. Are all bras, especially feeding bras, not a medical need?!
The law says we can’t work for six weeks after giving birth, but the government still taxes any income during those six weeks.
And pensions, even some women who are employed don’t have a private pension, some need to opt out as they can’t afford a pension, all their earnings are needed to pay for essentials items.
For men, their earning path, for the majority, is linear and is quite a weighted line. Society allows them to earn their maximum potential during their working life, their biology isn’t taxed, ensuring a significant pension and savings pot to support them until they pass.
For women, our paths are not linear, we have gaps, and our broken lines are significantly less weighted. We are prevented from earning our maximum potential, our biology is taxed and our pensions and savings, if we are fortunate enough to have them, are inefficient in comparison, but must serve us much longer.
Kind and fair gender equality equates to women being paid 30% more.
It’s not about equal pay, it’s about equitable living.
*I was inspired to write this article following a wonderful chat over a cuppa with Shkun Chadda, a health economics expert, who provided the 30% stat.
www.kindcurrency.co.uk