Labour Youth marks Gender Pay Gap Day
Today, Labour Youth marks Ireland’s Gender Pay Gap day – the day after which women effectively stop earning due to Ireland’s 13.9% gender pay gap.
Speaking on the significance of this day, Labour Youth’s Women and Trans* Officer, Hazel Gavigan said “In comparison to other European countries, the Irish workforce has a relatively low rate of female participation, with only 64% of women working compared to over 70% of men.
“Numerous socio-economic factors contribute to this statistic, one of which is the extortionate cost of childcare. With many families spending as much as 20% of monthly earnings on childcare, having two working parents is simply not feasible for them. We need increased investment to make childcare affordable to enable both parents work, should they wish to do so.
“Furthermore, we are calling for the speedy progression of the Labour Party’s Gender Pay Gap Information Bill through the Dáil to require medium to large-sized firms to publish the earnings of both their male and female workers.”
Labour Youth Chairperson, Chloe Manahan echoed these sentiments to say “these measures must be introduced, but further attention must also be drawn to gender roles and the nature of work typically assigned to women. This must include a serious conversation about why many women are relegated to undervalued, sub-standard, low-paid and precarious work.”
2018 is the centenary of some women’s suffrage in Ireland; over the course of 100 years, we have achieved lots to advance feminism, but this work is not over. Labour Youth calls for a renewed effort across the political divide to implement measures to ensure that women are valued at work and in society equally.