Women may hold up half the sky, but more than half of the burden falls unfairly on their shoulders. This disparity includes longer working hours, lower pay and lack of security in old age as elderly women become a majority in our ageing society.
The grim hardship women which face globally was revealed in Tuesday's report by UN Women — a timely reminder on gender inequality in the labour force as the world observes Labour Day today.
According to UN Women, women around the world earn, on average, 24% less than men. For women with children, the gender pay gap rises to 35%.
Apart from less access to welfare and pensions, women can expect to earn 31% less than men throughout their lifetime. In developing regions, 75% of women's employment is informal and insecure, without protection from labour laws and access to welfare support.
The report also reveals that working women have to shoulder double the workload in the form of unpaid child care and domestic work. Globally, women do 2.5 times more unpaid and domestic work than men. In countries where sexism is most deeply rooted the situation is worse.
Thailand is no exception in this global inequality epidemic. Here, women still only make 81% of men's salary for the same work, according to the World Economic Forum. According to the National Statistical Office, more than a third of women in the labour force were unpaid family workers.
Thailand may be among the countries with the highest percentage of women in top management roles, but this is only possible because of the cheap domestic help available to middle-class and upper-income families due to glaring socio-economic disparity.
Like elsewhere, most women here are employed informally in low-paying jobs without labour protection. Similarly, women's childcare duties and domestic work are taken for granted and not valued. Many women are held back by their household duties. Many have to quit their work to care for ageing parents, and many are unsure who will care for them when their time comes.
By 2025, the elderly will comprise 20% of the population and nearly 30% by 2050 — exceeding 20 million. The majority of them will be elderly women without spouses, living alone on low or no incomes, with illnesses and disabilities.
Workers often use Labour Day to demand a higher minimum wage. This year, one union is calling for the minimum wage to be increased to 360 baht, while another calls for 420 baht so the daily wage can cover a three-member family.
It is not by chance that many of these calls come from female unionists. Low pay and double workloads are their daily hardship. Research shows most money for family expenses comes from women.
A decent minimum wage, workplace childcare and welfare protection for informal workers are female unionists' Labour Day demands every year because they remain answered.
The government should not only heed their calls, it should follow UN Women's recommendations so its gender equality talk is not just lip service.
For starters, women's child care and domestic work can no longer be taken for granted. It must be paid for through state allowances, pension schemes and other social services. Workplace policies must accommodate women's needs.
In families, men must share childcare and domestic responsibilities. If society fails to undo stereotypes over what women and men can and should do, this will be an uphill task.
Short of a change in policies and cultural values, equal job opportunities are mere rhetoric, and inequality will remain the reality of women's lives and work.