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	Women earn just half of what men earn over 15 Years by ILO, Equal Pay International Coalition, agencies   Apr. 2019   Important role for trade unions in addressing gender pay gap. (ILO)   By targeting overall gender discrimination, promoting inclusive wage setting, pursuing specific gender pay equality measures and enhancing women's representation in decision-making, trade unions can contribute effectively to addressing the gender pay gap.   As key actors in the world of work, trade unions have an important role to play in addressing the gender pay gap, according to new research commissioned by the ILO's Bureau for Workers Activities (ACTRAV).   Closing the Gender Pay Gap: What role for Trade Unions, analyses the role trade unions can play and are playing at different policy levels in respect of both overall wage inequality and gender-specific wage inequality.   'Despite widespread recognition of the importance of addressing pay inequalities between men and women, progress in closing the gender pay gap has been slow. Trade unions must continue to address this challenge. This report suggests a way forward', said Maria Helena Andre, Director of ACTRAV.   Gender pay gaps must be seen in the broader context of gender inequality, including women's more limited access to paid employment, under-utilization of skills, the unequal division of tasks within the household, or the over-representation of women in low-paid and vulnerable employment.   Actions trade unions can take to close the gender pay gap range from targeting overall gender discrimination, promoting inclusive wage setting, pursuing specific gender pay equality measures, to enhancing women's representation in decision-making.   The research fed into an ILO ACTRAV policy brief which addresses key challenges and opportunities for workers organizations in achieving effective involvement in wage negotiations on equal pay for work of equal value. The policy brief also includes the outcomes of a global survey on the role of trade unions in wage setting for gender equality.   The paper and the policy brief are part of a comprehensive ILO approach on the issue of equal pay, and complement the Global Wage Report 2018/19: What lies behind gender pay gaps, the A quantum leap for gender equality as well as the work of the Equal Pay International Coalition. http://bit.ly/2I9RHAj   http://www.equalpayinternationalcoalition.org/ http://www.ilo.org/global/topics/equality-and-discrimination/epic/lang--en/index.htm http://www.ilo.org/global/research/global-reports/global-wage-report/2018/lang--en/index.htm   * ILO: Work-related gender gaps have not seen improvement for 20 years, but a new report says path to progress is clear: http://bit.ly/2TzOxMs http://bit.ly/2VJ47Sn   Dec. 2018   The global pay gap between men and women will take over 200 years to close, because it is so vast and the pace of change so slow, according to the World Economic Forum.   'The overall picture is that gender equality has stalled', Saadia Zahidi, the WEF's head of social and economic agendas, said.   The WEF found that on average women across the world are paid just 63% of what men earn. There is not a single country where women are paid as much as men. Laos, in south-east Asia, is the closest to achieving parity with women earning 91% of what men are paid. Barbados, The Bahamas, and Benin were not far behind; women in those countries earn at least 85 percent of men's salaries. Yemen, Syria and Iraq have the biggest pay gaps with women being paid less than 30% the level of mens wages.   Women are also far behind in politics, and the WEF estimated that at the current pace of change it will take 107 years until there are as many female politicians as male.   When it comes to political and economic leadership, the world still has a long way to go, the report said. Across the 149 countries assessed, there are just 17 that currently have women as heads of state, while, on average, just 18% of ministers and 24% of parliamentarians globally are women.   Iceland is the most equal country in terms of political roles, but there is still a 33% gap and it has widened compared to last year.   Just six other countries (Nicaragua, Norway, Rwanda, Bangladesh, Finland and Sweden) have closed at least 50% of their gap, the report said. On the other end of the spectrum, almost one-quarter of the countries assessed have closed less than 10% of their gender gap, and the four worst-performing countries - Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman and Yemen - have yet to bridge over 97% of their gap.�-   "The equal contribution of women and men in this process of deep economic and societal transformation is critical," the report notes. "More than ever, societies cannot afford to lose out on the skills, ideas, and perspectives of half of humanity."   * Global Gender Gap 2018 (360pp): http://bit.ly/2EtO7hO   Nov. 2018   Women earn just half of what men earn over 15 Years - Institute for Women's Policy Research (USA)   The pay inequality between men and women is much worse than women earning 80 cents for every dollar men earn, according to a new study.   The pay gap is actually more like 49 cents for every dollar, according to a study published by the Institute for Women's Policy Research, which analyzed total earnings across 15-year increments, such as from 2001 to 2015, instead of just one year, like the census data where the previous figure originated. The gap is much wider because the most recent study's data set includes anyone who worked even just one year out of the 15 included. And because women are much more likely to have gaps in their time in the labor force, they're more likely to make less money once they return to the labor force, the study said.   About 43 percent of women workers experienced at least one year with no earnings - almost double the rate of male workers. The researchers said that paid family and medical leave as well as affordable childcare could be policy initiatives that could further encourage women to participate in the labor force with more frequency. The study analyzed 15-year increments over a near 50-year period.   'The good news is that over the course of the nearly 50 years covered in the study, women have seen considerable progress in the labor force, by entering the workforce at higher rates and staying in the labor force for longer periods of time, which have led to higher earnings and a narrower wage gap', said Stephen Rose, the report's co-author and a nonresident fellow in the Income and Benefits Policy Center at the Urban Institute and a Research Professor at the George Washington Institute of Public Policy, in a statement.   The data also does not include metrics on race, a IWPR spokeswoman told VICE News, though she said that the authors of the study are working to expand the study with breakdowns of race and ethnicity. Statistics show that black and Latina women face the largest pay gaps with white men, and white women outearn most minority groups, including men of color.   http://iwpr.org/women-earn-just-half-of-what-men-earn-over-15-years/ Visit the related web page
	Inequality in Asia and Pacific by UNICEF, FAO, WFP, agencies   Nov. 2018   UN agencies raise alarm over weakened fight against hunger and malnutrition in Asia and the Pacific - FAO, UNICEF, WFP, WHO.   Four specialized agencies of the United Nations today warned of a colossal human loss to Asia and the Pacific and its economies if countries in the region do not recommit themselves to ending all forms of malnutrition and achieving zero hunger by 2030.   The warning came during the launch of a new regional report revealing that the reduction in the number of hungry and malnourished people - including children - has come to a virtual standstill in many parts of Asia and the Pacific.   The Asia and Pacific region accounts for well over half of the world's undernourished nearly half a billion people (486 million).   While recently released global figures indicate an overall rise in the prevalence of hunger worldwide, returning to levels from a decade ago, this regional report points out that stagnation in combating hunger and malnutrition in Asia and the Pacific is also a major concern due to the large numbers of people involved.   The report, Asia and the Pacific Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition, published today by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO), highlights a number of converging challenges that threaten to undermine the Sustainable Development Goal to end all forms of malnutrition by 2030 (SDG 2).   Progress in reducing undernourishment has slowed tremendously. The report's estimates show that the number of hungry people has barely changed during the past two years, making it increasingly difficult to achieve the Zero Hunger target of SDG 2, the regional heads of the four UN agencies wrote in their joint foreword.   A colossal human and economic loss   The Asia-Pacific region is home to more than half of the world's malnourished children. Malnutrition covers a broad spectrum and affects people of all ages - ranging from severe undernutrition to overweight and obesity - but children in particular, continue to bear the burden.   In this region, 79 million children, or one child in every four below the age of five, suffers from stunting and 34 million children are wasting, 12 million of whom suffer from severe acute malnutrition with drastically increased risk of death. While some significant progress has been made towards a reduction of stunting, there has been little improvement in wasting during the past decade.   The sad reality is that an unacceptably large number of children in the region continue to face the multiple burden of malnutrition despite decades of economic growth. This is a colossal human loss given the association between undernutrition and poor cognitive development, with severe lifelong consequences for the future of these children, the regional UN heads said, noting this also results in economic losses to a nation's economy due to missed opportunities of human potential.   The report points out that, from a cost-benefit perspective, many nutrition interventions can result in a return of USD 16 for every dollar invested.   Incidences of climate-related disasters have been rising in the region. Natural disasters impact food security and nutrition through reduced food production, which can then cascade down to the entire food value chain, affecting livelihoods and causing economic and agricultural loss.   Beyond the short term, disasters can impact the agriculture sector through loss of assets and rural infrastructure, and through increased disease outbreaks. According to recent FAO estimates, Asia suffered a loss of USD 48 billion during 2005-2015. Countries need to adapt agriculture to become more resilient to climate related events and to mitigate the damage they can cause.   Limited or poor access to safe food and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) is another of the key drivers of malnutrition among children. To contribute substantially to reducing malnutrition, food safety and WASH improvements and coverage must be improved and expanded across the region.   Persistent hunger and rising obesity: Unacceptable developments in an otherwise prosperous region   The report also highlights the almost paradoxical reality of an increase in obesity of both children and adults in the region. It reveals that the region is now home to the fastest growing prevalence of childhood obesity in the world.   Asia and the Pacific has witnessed rapid growth in the number of overweight children and the serious consequences that entails for their future health and well-being. An estimated 14.5 million children under five are overweight and virtually all children in the region are increasingly exposed to cheap, unhealthy processed foods high in salt, sugar and fat but poor in essential nutrients.   This double burden of malnutrition sees undernourished and overweight children living in the same communities and households and it can even occur within the same child, the report said.   As migration from rural to urban areas continues apace, particularly involving poorer families, urban malnutrition is another challenge facing many countries. At the current rate of urbanization, by 2030, more than 55 percent of the Asian population will be living in cities and towns.   While urbanization can bring economic opportunity, the growth is often not equitable and is associated with a concurrent prevalence of high and sustained undernutrition in children with rapidly rising rates of obesity in children and adults.   These developments in food security and nutrition are at odds with the region's continuing high level of economic growth, the regional UN agency heads noted, with new concerns raised that a large majority of countries in the region now risk missing both SDG 2 and World Health Assembly targets on nutrition.   Efforts to fight malnutrition must also go hand in hand with those to build and sustain peace, the report says, and there is an urgent need to accelerate and scale up actions that strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity of people and their livelihoods to climate variability and extremes.   This is the first time that the four UN agencies responsible for helping countries in Asia and the Pacific achieve food security, improve maternal and child health and welfare, have jointly published such a report. Their joint efforts underline the urgency of the present situation and represents a united front and call to action in urging governments to show greater resolve in meeting previous commitments to end hunger and improve food security and nutrition across the region.   The four UN agencies summarize the report's findings: What is becoming increasingly clear is that the world cannot meet the 2030 target of zero hunger if Asia and the Pacific - the world's most populous region - is not leading the way. It is a hard reality but one that must be faced with a united determination to turn things around.   * Access the 96pp report: http://bit.ly/2PyvMGd   Nov. 2018   Social Outlook for Asia and the Pacific 2018   The Social Outlook for Asia and the Pacific lays out new arguments and evidence for the critical and urgent need to increase investment in people, particularly in social protection.   Developing countries in Asia and the Pacific only spend about 3.7 per cent of GDP on social protection, compared to the world average of 11.2 per cent. This under investment is the reason why 60 per cent of the population in the Asia-Pacific region has no protection if they fall ill, have a disability, become unemployed, pregnant or old.   With 1.2 billion people living on than less $3.20 per day, of which 400 million live on less than $1.9 per day, social protection is an essential strategy to tackle poverty and deprivation.   The evidence for increasing the level of investment in people in Asia and the Pacific is overwhelming: around 328 million people would be lifted out of moderate poverty and 52 million would move out of extreme poverty, if countries in the region matched the global averages of spending on education, health and social protection.   Countries in the region do not have to wait to become rich to start investing in people. Even low income and lower-middle income countries can boost social spending, as evidenced by some first movers across the region.   http://www.unescap.org/publications/social-outlook-asia-and-pacific-2018   Inequality is increasing in Asia and the Pacific, by Shamshad Akhtar - Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)   Inequality is increasing in Asia and the Pacific. Our region's recent economic success belies a widening gap between rich and poor. A gap that's trapping people in poverty and, if not tackled urgently, will thwart the ambition to achieve sustainable development. This is the central challenge states and governments in the Asia and the Pacific region.   It's imperative, because as the recent Sustainable Development Goal Progress Report shows at the current rate of progress, Asia and the Pacific will fall short of achieving the UN's 2030 Agenda. Despite Asia-Pacific's economic growth, over 400 million people remain trapped in extreme poverty at $1.90 a day with at least 1.2 billion people remaining in vulnerable situations ($3.20 a day). Disparities in income and wealth, as well as those related to basic services are persisting and preventing a future of shared prosperity. Whilst there has been welcome progress, including in some of the least developed countries of our region, in several critical areas, the region's heading in the wrong direction.   Environmental stewardship has fallen seriously short. The health of our oceans has deteriorated since 2015. On land, our ecosystems biodiversity is threatened. Forest conservation and the protection of natural habitats has weakened. Greenhouse gas emissions are still too high. But it's the widening inequalities during a period of robust growth that are particularly striking.   Wealth has become increasingly concentrated. Inequalities have increased both within and between countries. Over thirty years, the Gini coefficient increased in four of our most populous countries, home to over 70 per cent of the region's population. Human, societal and economic costs are real. Had income inequality not increased over the past decade, close to 140 million more people could have been lifted out of poverty.   More women would have had the opportunity to attend school and complete their secondary education. Access to healthcare, to basic sanitation or even bank accounts would have been denied to fewer citizens. Fewer people would have died from diseases caused by the fuels they cook with. Natural disasters would have wrought less havoc on the most vulnerable.   The uncomfortable truth is that inequality runs deep in many parts of Asia and the Pacific. Recent ESCAP analysis provides recommendations to in invest in our people: to improve access to healthcare and education. Only a healthy population can study, work and become more prosperous. The universal basic healthcare schemes established by Bhutan and Thailand are success stories to build on. Expanding social protection to low income families through cash transfers can help underpin a healthy society.   Increasing investment in education is fundamental to both development and equality. Here the key to success is making secondary education genuinely accessible and affordable, including for those living in rural areas. Where universal access has been achieved, the focus must be on improving quality. This means upskilling teachers and improving curricula, and tailoring education to future labour markets and new technologies.   Equipping people to exploit frontier technologies is becoming more important. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is a rapidly expanding sector. It can quicken the pace of development. But it is also creating a digital divide which must be bridged. Put simply, we need better broadband access across our region. Geography can't determine opportunity.   This is also true when it comes to tackling climate change, disasters and environmental degradation. We know these hazards are pushing people back into poverty and can entrench inequality. In response, we need investment to help people to adapt in the region's disaster hotspots: targeted policies to mitigate the impacts of environmental degradation on those most vulnerable, particularly air pollution.   Better urban planning, regular school health check-ups in poorer neighborhoods, and legislation guaranteeing the right to a clean, safe and healthy environment into constitutions should be part of our response.   We need more effective taxation systems to increase the tax take, and better governance and public expenditures so the proceeds of economic growth are shared more widely, and inequalities reduced.   Government leaders need to strengthen their commitment to fighting inequality on all fronts and put us back on track to sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific.   * Shamshad Akhtar is Executive Secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). ESCAP is the regional development arm of the United Nations for the Asia-Pacific region - made up of 53 States - home to 4.1 billion people.   * Report: Inequality in Asia and Pacific (124pp): http://bit.ly/2KY29Nd   http://www.unescap.org/our-work/social-development/poverty-and-inequality
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