'No country in world where wives earn as much as their husbands': New global study claims

As gender inequality remains a social barrier in human development, according to a recent global study, the difference in earnings between a heterosexual couple persists across countries, over time, and across rich and poor households. The study of intra-household gender inequality in wages was conducted across 45 countries over a period from 1973 to 2016. It claims there isn't a single country in the world where wives are paid more than their husbands. 

The researchers, Professor Hema Swaminathan and Professor Deepak Malghan, of the Centre for Public Policy, Indian Institute of Management in Bengaluru, conducted the survey and gathered data from 2.85 million households made up of heterosexual couples between the ages of 18 and 65 years.

Prof Swaminathan while talking to the BBC said, "Conventional poverty estimates look at the household as a unit. The general assumption is that within a household, incomes are pooled and equally distributed. But the household is often a place of great inequality, and we wanted to unpack that." 

The report describes that in India, gender inequality in labour force exists and there are a few women who go to work and they are less likely to be in full-time jobs. Highlighting the need to focus on the issue on the global level, Prof Swaminathan and Malghan said to BBC, "For instance, Nordic countries are held out as a beacon of hope for gender equality, but what is it like there? Is the distribution of work - and wealth within homes - equal?"

According to the research results, there isn't a single country in the world where wives earn more or as much as husbands. 

Why do women earn less than men?

One of the main reasons why women earn less is that men are universally seen as breadwinners while women as homemakers. The gender pay gap remains culturally valid in many counties. Many women take a break or get paid leave after childbirth as caregiving is considered to be women's responsibility. 

According to an International Labour Organisation report of 2018, "Globally, women perform 76.2% of total hours of unpaid care work, more than three times as much as men. While its has hiked to 80% in Asia and  the Pacific." 

The report further stated that the main reason for women to not progress in the labor force is unpaid care work. There are consequences beyond economics because of a woman's lower-income that can affect gender dynamics in the household and put women at a disadvantage.

Prof Swaminathan told the BBC, "The wife's contribution as a homemaker is invisible, while cash is visible. So a wife earning a salary, bringing in hard cash into the family kitty enjoys a certain status. It enhances her agency and gives her a voice within the household."

He added, "Increased earnings increase her negotiation powers, give her a bargaining tool, even help her exit an abusive situation by giving her a fallback option."

Research analysis

Though the gender pay gap exists, a decline of 20 per cent has been observed between 1973 and 2016 in terms of intra-household inequality. Prof Swaminathan informed, "Across most parts of the world, economic development and growth has happened and women's participation in the labour force has increased." He further stated that some of the countries have introduced women-friendly policies that have narrowed the gap. Also, protests and movements demanding equal pay have resulted in shrinking of the gap. 

But despite the decline, governments and companies must recruit more women and consider care work and unpaid housework. Also, there is a need for a society where men share the burden of unpaid chores. 

(Image: PTI)

Update: The copy has been duly updated with citations and credit that was previously erroneously missed.