By Rania Hoteit and Yitzi Weiner
Establishing equality and fairness is a fundamental human right, yet it has been one of humanity’s greatest challenges. Although women have made many strides and gains in the workforce, “equal pay day” is no where to be seen on the horizon. During the last couple of decades, the gap narrowed gradually. However, in most countries around the world, there is still a substantial gender pay gap, except for few cases of a remarkable reduction. But even this slow progress has stalled in recent years. According to the World Economic Forum’s forecast on the average pay for both genders globally, women will not earn equally as men for 217 years.
As for the United States, in 2017 the gap was still 20 percent, and we are at least 70 years away from closing the gender pay gap completely based on the latest data. If progress continues at the alarming rate seen since 2001, pay equity between men and women in the US won’t be reached until 2119. The gender gap manifests itself across the entire economy, when the pay of all women is compared to the pay for all men.
The issue is a lot more complex than simply unequal numbers on pay stubs, and the significant contributors to disparities run as deep in our psyches as they do in the very infrastructural fabric of our societies. We reached out to more than 30 CEOs and executives and asked them what they saw as the causes for the gender pay gap, and what we can do as a society to correct this.
Rocco Shields, CEO, Genius Produced
What I Believe Are The Root Causes of The Gender Wage Gap
When two male CEO’s agree to meet for dinner and talk business, plans are made, a meal is shared, handshakes are exchanged, and new ventures are formed.
When a female CEO sets up a meeting with a male CEO to talk business: plans are made, a meal is shared,¦.and suddenly — there can be a very easy transition to the misinterpretation of this business meeting as a DATE.
As a female CEO in the entertainment industry, I have never compromised my integrity. The result? I have created a thriving counterculture to the stereotypical Hollywood you have been reading about lately. But what I have achieved is not commonplace, and I have watched other women fall victim to false definitions of partnership.
And even with these values, it has taken me years longer than any other male CEO to garner venture capital. Why? Because 95% of my meetings result in my potential business partner suddenly veering the conversation away from business and into personal territory.
When it comes to the gender wage gap, the root of the problem is quite simple: opportunity. There are more male CEOs than female CEOs. Why? Simply because of the consistent misinterpretation of a date vs. a business meeting.