According to a study by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), women in Ghana are paid 34.2 percent less than men, as reported in last week’s issue of The Spectator.

It said the wage gap was the highest among workers with basic education (60.1 percent) followed by workers with no education (54 percent).

The data from the first-quarter of the 2022 Annual Household Income and Expenditure Survey (AHIES) was released to commemorate Inter­national Equal Pay Day, which was observed on September 18.

It aimed at encouraging efforts toward the achievement of equal pay for work of equal value.

According to the story, “the gender wage gap is lowest among paid workers with tertiary education or more, where women earn 12.7 percent less than their male coun­terparts.”

The discrepancy between men’s and women’s incomes is known as the “gender pay gap.”

Arguments against the gender pay gap stem from gender inequal­ity, which include lack of employ­ment equality, unequal political representation, unequal access to education, and job segregation at work, where society tends to believe that men are better suited to handle particular jobs.

And because of this, people believe that men are better in the highest-paying jobs, which results in discrimination and lower incomes.

It appears that most women are paid less than men because they (the women) occupy positions that require less education, less experi­ence, or fewer time commitments which affect their pay-packs even­tually.

It is not surprising though, that some women with higher education levels and lots of experience are still underappreciated.

In certain organisations, wom­en negotiate salary increases and request promotions, yet they are turned down.

In these modern times when women provide majority of the income for their families, when they are paid less, they have less money for essential expenses like child care, rent, utilities, education, savings and property.

The Spectator believes that if women were compensated decently and the salary gap is closed it will benefit society and the economy as a whole to reduce the poverty rate.

We implore all employers, includ­ing those in the public and private sectors, whether formally or infor­mally, Non-Governmental Organisa­tions (NGOs), among others to make pay equity a top priority on their agenda to ensure that women and men receive equal pay for the work they do.

We also urge women to advance in their careers to create more op­portunities for them in their jobs.