We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back! It is a grave injustice that in a multitude of cases, from equal pay to natural disasters - such as the current crisis in East Africa - the impacts on people often reflect and reinforce gender inequality (for a ripple paper about this click here).
September 18th was International Equal Pay Day. This day raises awareness about this persistent issue with the aim to end pay gap discrimination, particularly for women of colour and other minorities. Under this, the call for “Equal Pay for Work of Equal Value” was highlighted.
This stubborn inequality persists because women’s work tends to be under-valued. Even though the work itself may require equal or more effort and skill, it is all too frequently valued and remunerated less. For women of colour, immigrant women and mothers, the discrepancy typically widens.
Want to learn more? UN Women is the UN entity dedicated to gender equality; you can gain insights here including facts about women in the changing face of work here. Finally, what about our sector? A man working in the not-for-profit sector is two times more likely to rise to a leadership position than a women with levels of influence and remuneration being disproportionately associated with this; you can explore the results of the “FAIR SHARE Monitor 2022” here.
Rebuilding lost livelihoods. We have very recently commenced working with the Irish Emergency Alliance. This is a collaborative endeavour of leading humanitarian agencies, who work together to respond faster and do more to save and help rebuild the lives of people affected by major emergencies. It is made up of seven INGO’s. You can find out more here. See some pictures from our latest workshop below:
East Africa is experiencing one of its most severe droughts in recent history. Over 30 million people are facing hunger in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and South Sudan. Gender dynamics typically have big impacts in such situations; for findings about this click here. IEA is responding to the emergency in the Horn of Africa. To gain insights, click here.
'How can creativity inspire government action for a healthy planet?' The Commitment are running an in-person event in London this week (29th September at 7pm) based on this topic. It will include poetry readings, a film screening and panel discussion! For anyone interested to attend, click the link here to register.
Changemaker of the week
Quote of the week: “I raise up my voice, not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard. We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back” Malala Yousafzai
Best wishes
Lorna, Rosie, Ian, Iain and Kemal