Issue of Gender Pay Gap

Over the years, there is still a persistent pay gap between men and women. In the United States, for example, women working full time are paid just 83 cents to every dollar earned by men. The gender pay gap affects the lives of women workers as it follows women into retirement. It means that because women receive fewer earnings in their working years, they will eventually receive less retirement income than men. 

Women in the United States have only 70% retirement income of what men do. The gender pay gap is due to many factors, such as race and ethnicity, disability, access to education, and age. Since many factors lead to the gender pay gap in society, there are many situations where women experience discrimination in their pay.

However, this issue is not just in the United States. Unfortunately, women in South Korea also experience a pay gap compared to men, as South Korea has some of the most significant labor market gender gaps among OECD countries, both in earnings and labor force participation. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the gender pay gap stood at 32 percent in 2020, which is almost 20 percent higher in Korea than the OECD average. The gender pay gap also negatively impacts the country's economy as IMF suggests that if Korea's female labor force participation increased to the same level as male labor force participation by 2035, GDP would also increase by 7 percent. 

These statistics represent the gender pay gap's significance to the workers and the country's economy. Therefore, societies should come up with possible solutions to the issue of the gender pay gap.