The current pandemic brings with it a regressive effect on gender diversity and inclusion.
This is the risk highlighted by McKinsey in a recently published article, which emphasizes that jobs performed by women are 1.8 times more precarious and therefore more vulnerable during times of crisis compared to those of men.
A figure also confirmed for Italy by the latest Istat data: in May, the decrease in employment on a monthly basis primarily affected women (-0.7% compared to -0.1% for men, equivalent to -65,000 and -19,000 respectively).
One of the main causes of this vulnerability is that women have a double workload, with the unpaid one – domestic and caregiving – often being the most significant and demanding.
Home schooling VS home working
Just consider that during Phase 1, women in Italy dedicated 79 hours per week to unpaid domestic work, more than double the amount of time fathers spent (55 hours for fathers).
During the lockdown, families had to care for their children while continuing their work activities, but it was women who took on this additional work, and this is having, according to data from the Catholic University, a dual negative impact, both personally and professionally.
On a personal level, because those who have children and take care of them admit that they found themselves having to choose where to set their priorities, between family and work during this crisis period, which left us alone at home, in a continuous present of home schooling and home working.
But also on a professional level, because those who take care of the children on their own report difficulties in concentrating on work due to concerns about caregiving, and admit that their work performance could be affected as a result.
One of the main antidotes to this vulnerability of female employment would therefore be to ensure that a woman's work – within a family unit – is not necessarily considered supplementary or secondary to domestic economics.
And to achieve this – in addition to a cultural shift and overcoming gender stereotypes within the family – it is also necessary for women to be paid the same as men for the same role and hours worked.
Equal pay: from "pocket money" to pension
A goal that many still consider achieved, but in reality, it is far from being reached: in Italy, women in the private sector earn, on average, 20.7% less than men.
It’s as if, at the counter, a man pays 1 euro for a coffee, and a woman pays 1 euro and 20 cents.
A gap that is not only economic but also cultural, and that begins in childhood, with pocket money: only 42.1% of girls receive it regularly in exchange for household help, compared to 58% of boys.
This gender differential is then reinforced with a degree and the first job: one year after entering the labor market, women earn 17.3% less than men.
In the same position and with the same seniority, female managers also earn, on average, 15% less than their male colleagues.
And in roles with greater responsibility, this disparity between men and women widens: for executives, the hourly wage is more than one and a half times that of female executives.
Women on Boards of Directors can earn up to 69.8% less.
The differences accumulated throughout a working life are also reflected in retirement: women receive 28.6% less than men.
This social and economic difference between men and women has a social and economic cost that European countries and companies are trying to address.
In the UK, by law, since 2017, all companies with more than 250 employees are required to disclose and publish the pay gap between men and women, following the "comply or explain" approach.
The law served primarily to highlight the issue, so that corrective, urgent, and necessary measures could be implemented: it emerged that 78% of companies pay women less than men, based on a sample of over 10,000 companies.
This very practical and functional approach is a middle ground between a conservative approach on one side – like in Germany and the USA – where the professional has to prove the existence of a potential gap by requesting an internal investigation within their company, with all the risks involved.
And a regulatory approach on the other side – as in France and even more so in Scandinavian countries and Switzerland – where there is mandatory equal pay certification, with checks and penalties.
The debate is also open in Italy, as the European directive on non-financial reporting requires companies to disclose information on the management of their employees and compensation policies.
The Equal-Salary certification
Currently, there are several draft laws under consideration, proposed by various political forces. In the meantime, companies – as often happens – are anticipating the regulation and taking action on their own.
At the beginning of the month, it caused a stir when Ferrari announced that it had received the Equal-Salary certification from the Swiss foundation of the same name.
This recognition is the result of a strategic decision and a commitment that lasted for months: between 2016 and 2019, Ferrari increased the number of its female employees from 11.5% to over 14%, and from here arose the need for a policy of equal pay.
The certification, private and at the company's expense, is issued by the Equal-Salary foundation following the results of an eight-month analysis that examines the policies and practices adopted by companies in terms of "diversity & inclusion" protection, with the support of PWC.
This certification has also been adopted internationally by Philip Morris, and there is growing interest in the topic.
Because equal pay, in addition to being a matter of social equity for European countries, is also an issue of economic efficiency for companies, in terms of attracting and developing talent.
