The Gender Pay Gap

– a guide for the already converted

 

As socioeconomic inequalities worsen in South Africa due to the COVID-19 pandemic, women bear the most economic consequences – including a widening gender pay gap.

In alignment with our commitment to be a catalyst of reform through strategic investments in the corporate sector and the development of women entrepreneurs, WDB Investment Holdings (WDBIH)  has partnered with the University of Stellenbosch Business School on a gender pay gap guide. This guide is a toolkit of rational arguments and suggested actions to use to help to close the gap – at an individual, organisational and national level

There are six parts to the guide:

  • Part 1: Closing the gap on injustice gives an overview of the implications of the gender pay gap to society, and explores the impact of this gap on South Africa’s social structure.
  • Part 2: Defining and calculating the gender pay gap explains what the gender pay gap is, and how it is calculated on an individual and collective level. It also presents the steps for companies to use when conducting a gender pay gap audit.
  • Part 3: South African governance and legislation lays out the international conventions that South Africa subscribes to, and the South African frameworks that protect women from discrimination when it comes to pay.
  • Part 4: It’s complicated… factors that drive the gender pay gap unpacks three categories of factors that may drive pay discrepancy. These include the career paths that women are socialised to choose, ideas about the roles women should play in society, and perceptions about how women should behave.
  • Part 5: Time for change lays out paths of action that the business world, investor activists and business leaders can take to close the gender pay gap and help to build a more equal society.
  • Part 6: Conclusion gives us a timely reminder of how important it is to take action to close the gap.
Gender Pay Gap Guide