Improving gender statistics for advancement of gender equality and women s empowerment: an inter-regional workshop, 6 8 June 2016, UNESCAP, Bangkok, Thailand MEASURING THE ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS ON GENDER EQUALITY AND WOMEN EMPOWERMENT, SPECIFICALLY ON THE PAY GAP BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN IN JORDAN Manal Sweidan Gender Statistics Expert Problem statement: Jordanian Women: Well Educated, Healthy, But Economically Excluded Ratio of women to men in nonagricultural wage employment 25 20 15 10 20.4 5 Seats held by Illiteracy rate 0 women in the lower house of the Parliament 24.8 12 12 1990 2015 10 5.6 0 Fertility rate 3.5 1
Worldwide 75% of men and 50% of women participate in the labor market Jordan 71% of men and 21% of women participate in the labor market Monthly Average Wage Gender-based differences in wages are still a major structural problem in the Jordanian labor market Male Female Difference in wages 364 315 291 273 234 238 246 249 250 314 277 249 201 211 219 226 218 231 403 359 429 379 476 429 33 27 27 23 32 42 42 38 50 44 50 47 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2
Worldwide Gender Pay Gap For every dollar earned by men women earn between 70 and 90 cents Jordan For every JD earned by men women earn 90 piasters Approach to measure Gender Pay Gap Data Source Calculation Method Wage types & Time reference Type of Employment Enterprisebased Survey 2011 & 2013 Gross + Benefits Hourly & Monthly Paid Employee GPG= [men s average earnings women s average earnings] men s average earnings 3
GPG Trends Data show that the GPG has narrowed during the last decades by nine percentage points 19.2 19.1 Monthly GPG 13.74 11.66 10.0 1992 2000 2008 2011 2013 The decrease in the GPG can be attributed to As women have outpaced men in college education, their share of employment in the skilled types of work has risen sharply Gains female have made in educational attainment Increasing female's earnings Wage earned by female increased from 201 JD in 2000 to 429 JD in 2013 Female labor force participation increased from 11.7 % in 1992 to 13.2% in 2013 Greater female labor force participation An increased presence of female in more wellpaid occupation Female's employment in Legislators, senior officials - where the monthly earning was the highest among all occupationsincreased 4
Factors behind the Gender Pay Gap Monthly GPGs across sectors, 2011-2013 10 A scrutiny of the monthly GPG by sector between 2011 and 2013 reveals a reduced GPG in the private sector and an increased in the public sector 2011 2013 19.5 10.2 13.2 Public sector Private sector 5
Hourly GPG across sectors, 2011-2013 11 High hourly GPG in the public sector and a low one in the private sector between 2011and 2013 2013 2011 Private sector 3.5 9.4 Public sector 5.2 11.6 12 Share of employment and Monthly GPGs across Occupations, 2013 Elementary occupations 12.5 Plant & machine operators & assemblers 34.3 Craft & related trade workers Service workers, shop & market sales workers Clerks -5.4 16.9 40.5 GPG Technicians & associate professionals Professionals Legislators, senior officials & managers 24.7 31.6 34.4 Female workers Male workers -10 10 30 50 70 90 6
Hourly GPGs across Occupations, 2013 13 40.0 38.3 36.7 30.0 25.6 25.7 24.7 20.0 10.0 9.2 0.0-11.5 0.0-10.0-20.0 14 Monthly and Hourly GPGs across Educational levels, 2013 The monthly and hourly GPGs were the largest among the employees who are university graduates 37.0 Hourly GPG PG 31.3 23.8 12.9 20.0 B.A/B.Sc or Higher 1.7 Secondary or Middle Diploma Less than Secondary 7
15 Share of Female Employment in Feminized Industrial Activities Percentage of female employment out of the total female employment in Feminized Industrial Activities, 2011-2013 50 40 30 20 10 0 Human Health and Social Work Activities 12.6 12.4 12.8 13.2 Manufacturing 45.3 45.4 2013 2011 Education 16 GPG across the Feminized Industrial Activities, 2011-2013 Monthly GPG for education activity was the lowest among feminized economic activities that include the highest Proportion of women's employment 38.9 29.0 2011 2013 23.6 24.6 30.1 31.8 Manufacturing Education Human Health and Social Work Activities 8
Conclusions 17 Are these pay gaps due to?choices women make in the workplace or to choices made FOR women in the workplace? Consequently: Could the gender pay gap turn out to be zero? Lessons learned 18 If someone is looking for a reason (other than simple fairness) why we should work to close the gap, the 2010 OECD report has an answer which states Trimming the workplace gender gap by half could significantly lift GDP growth rates. "Investment in gender equality yields the highest returns of all development investments and gender inequality means not only forgoing the important contributions that women make to the economy, but also wasting years of investment in educating girls and young women. 9
The issue is not only about pay or rely on the famous belief which states that: the most important step in closing the pay gap is to give up the notion that, to be paid fairly, a woman must make it in a man s world but it is rather about the opportunities for advancement and promotion that bring higher earnings. Thanks for listening 10