The average pay gap between men and women, in terms of median hourly earnings, stands at 14 percent and has only narrowed by 2.5 percentage points since 2011, according to PwC's Women in Work Index
The motherhood penalty—the loss in lifetime earnings experienced by women raising children—has become the most significant driver of the gender pay gap," PwC says in its report. Image: Johanna Leguerre/ AFP
There has been minimal global movement toward gender pay equality because many women still face a "motherhood penalty" after having children, a study said Tuesday.
Progress has been "exceedingly slow" in industralized nations over the past decade, consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said in a report using latest available 2021 data.
The average pay gap between men and women, in terms of median hourly earnings, stands at 14 percent and has only narrowed by 2.5 percentage points since 2011, according to PwC's Women in Work Index.
It would take half a century to reach gender parity at this rate, the group said, adding recent improvements were driven by post-Covid recovery rather than genuine progress.
"The motherhood penalty—the loss in lifetime earnings experienced by women raising children—has become the most significant driver of the gender pay gap," PwC concluded in its report.