The Gender(ed) Wage Gap & Intimate Partner Violence
Estimates suggest that approximately 27% of women globally have experienced some form of intimate partner violence in their lifetimes, with 13% experiencing intimate partner violence in the past year (Sardinha et al., 2022). The United Nation's Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5.2 demands that all forms of violence against all women and girls be eliminated in both public and private spheres, which includes the elimination of trafficking and other forms of exploitation (United Nations, 2015). Intimate partner violence has been linked to poorer health outcomes for women, including depression, anxiety, chronic pain, addiction, sexually transmitted illnesses and other related illnesses, suicide, and death (Aizer, 2010; Heise et al., 2002; Mathur et al., 2018; Perova et al., 2021; World Health Organization, 2005). Evidence suggests that the gender wage gap predicts rates of intimate partner violence. Therefore, a decrease in the gender wage gap will lead to a decrease in intimate partner violence, thereby improving health outcomes for women.
Postmus et al. (2018) calls economic insecurity a "gendered issue." Throughout the life course, factors associated with workforce discrimination, the gendered nature of care, and the undervaluing of women's work — both paid and unpaid — lead to discrepancies related to economic and social outcomes (Perez, 2019; Postmus et al., 2018). The term unpaid labor refers to household work, childrearing, errand running, and elder care (Perez, 2019). Unpaid labor is not optional work. Rather, it is critical to the functioning of society. Approximately 75% of unpaid work around the world is undertaken by women (de Bogotá, 2015). On average, women spend between three and six hours a day on unpaid labor, whereas men spend an average of thirty minutes to two hours per day (Tzvetkova & Otiz-Ospina, 2017). This extra work is detrimental to women's health outcomes.
In 1930, the International Labour Organization (ILO) stated that significant negative health outcomes may be incurred should individuals exceed 48 hours of work per week (ILO, 1930). The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in the UK has consistently found that women have significantly higher rates of work-related stress, anxiety, and depression than men (HSE, 2017). Virtanen et al. (2011) found that working fifty-five hours or more a week significantly increased the risk of experiencing depression and anxiety for women while serving as a protective factor for men.
But the increased workload for women does not only affect their mental health. Moderate overtime work has been shown to increase hospitalization and mortality rates for women; though it has a protective effect for men (Dembe & Yao, 2016). Dembe & Yao (2016) found "alarming increases" in cancer and heart disease for women who work more than forty hours. Once women reached sixty-hour workweeks, their chances of developing these life-threatening diseases tripled. Pelletier et al. (2016) suggested that the increased burden of unpaid labor on women could be the explanation for the reason women had poorer outcomes after heart bypass surgery compared to men.
Considering the increased burden of unpaid labor and the negative impact of overtime work on health, many will point to a woman's "choice" of pursuing part-time work. However, Perez (2019) calls this "a choice that is not a choice." The reality is that there are no other options, especially for working mothers. Others may point to the types of industry that draw women, stating that they just pay less. However, U.S. census data from fifty years reveal that industry will attract lower pay if high numbers of women participate in it because it loses "prestige" (Levanon et al., 2009; Pan, 2015; Perez, 2019).
Overall, a woman will make between 31% and 75% less money than a man across a lifespan. There is a substantially higher pay gap in countries where women are responsible for the majority of the unpaid work (Ferrant et al., 2014). Compared to a woman with no children, a woman with one child will earn $285,000 less by the time she is forty-five years old (UN Women, 2015). Since pensions are based off lifetime earnings and women cannot afford to save for retirement — and considering that women live approximately five years longer on average than men, women face extreme poverty in old age (Perez, 2019).
Lack of economic resources force women to become dependent on others to meet basic needs for them and their children, establishing vulnerabilities for intimate partner violence and reducing one's means of exiting abusive situations (Aizer, 2010; Anderberg et al., 2016; Henke & Hsu, 2020; Tertilt & van den Berg, 2012). According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, women who report an annual income below $10,000 report intimate partner violence rates that are five times higher than those women who report an annual income over $30,000.00 (Aizer, 2010).
Fortunately, evidence suggests that a reduction in the gender wage gap, especially via improvements in non-tradable industries, would decrease intimate partner violence, even for women who do not engage in the paid workforce (Aizer, 2011; Anderberg et al., 2016; Henke & Hsu, 2020; Munyo & Rossi, 2015; Perova et al., 2021). But women are not the only ones who benefit from a reduction in the gender wage gap. Children of single mothers who received equitable compensation for paid labor will grow up with more resources and will be less likely to be exposed to intimate partner violence (Bair-Merritt, 2006). Woetzel et al. (2015) estimate that women's equal participation in the workforce would add $28 trillion to the world's economy and increase the gross domestic product for a country by an average of 10% within 10 years.
Improvements can be made at many levels to increase the earning potential for women. For example, government policies like paid maternity leave and accessible childcare; investments in non-tradable industry (services); organizational policies that utilize set schedules; reliable transportation; and parity in unpaid household labor all play a role in addressing the gender wage gap and decreasing intimate partner violence (Perez, 2019). In addition, to decrease intimate partner violence, the United Nations recommends the elimination of harmful practices like forced marriage and genital mutilation; increased recognition for and valuation of unpaid labor; increased female participation in leadership roles in government, industry, etc.; accessible reproductive healthcare; reformation of laws allowing women to buy and sell property and receive inheritances; and increased ability to access technology and information for women (United Nations, 2022). As is evident from the research, these changes would have a profoundly positive effect for all of humanity.
References
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