Pay inequality still exists, but equalization is coming

Swedish national statistics from 2008 show that fulltime working women still earn on average 19 percent less than men. Unequal pay between men and women is of course not confined to Sweden. All over the world, men usually earn more money than women even when the two jobs, skill sets and other variables are as close to identical as possible. Scholars have been studying this phenomenon for decades and have come up with a whole list of explanations for why this inequality persists. If you wanted to boil it down to one word, however, the reason might simply be “tradition.” Many societies haven't quite gotten used to the fact that women are doing the exact same jobs as men — and often doing them better than their male counterparts. Women of course have traditionally acted as homemakers and family caregivers, a role many continue to play in addition to having a “real job.” Although we are now in the tenth year of the 21st century, a woman who works longer hours than a man before coming home and putting in more hours for her family, still often receives a smaller paycheck than a man.

It might be fair to criticize the Swedish feminist party for the destruction of so much money; after all, burning money won't solve the problem and donating the funds to some worthy cause would probably be more useful. But it's easy to sympathize with the overall aim of trying to highlight the situation. Frequently such shock tactics are needed to get attention. Happily, however, there is some good news out there and despite continued inequality on many fronts; women all over the world are making progress.

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