ILO: Gender pay gap “Thank you” doesn’t pay the bills

ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder has made a speech at an event of Equal Pay International Coalition, which took place during the 65th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women.

In his video message, entitled “‘Thank you’ doesn't pay the bills”, ILO Director-General highlighted that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to the further widening in the gender pay gap. As Mr Ryder said, the devastating socio-economic crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic has affected women and men unequally, and women have been the worst affected. A rise in violence and harassment has been coupled with huge job losses, cuts to paid work, and more housework and family care responsibilities. All of these have especially touched upon women.

Mr Ryder mentioned that the ILO Equal Remuneration Convention (1951) represents an important step towards achieving gender equality, however, concrete actions are needed. Here, Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC) unveils another powerful tool - a global database on equal pay legislation that will enable monitoring progress on achieving equal pay for all.

In conclusion, ILO Director-General reaffirmed that greater gender equality in the world is indispensable for recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.