A man I manage earns £20k more than me, and I can’t discuss it publicly | Anonymous
A Norwegian financial trade union might be an unlikely mouthpiece for challengers of the global gender pay gap, but earlier this year it became just that. In an advertisement designed to highlight the company’s commitment to fairness in a sector still dogged by inequality, kids took part in a social experiment in which they were videoed being instructed to complete a simple task, for which they were rewarded with jars of sweets. Though all children completed the assignment to a similar standard, the boys were given more sweets than the girls. The adult running the experiment subsequently explained to the perplexed youngsters that the difference was down to their gender. Girls’ work, so the stoic message went, is worth less than boys’.
The children took issue, displaying a spectrum of emotions from confusion and annoyance to distress and resentment. It’s not fair, they unanimously agreed, a little shy at first and then more adamantly. And you’d be hard pressed to find an adult who publicly disagrees. But our workplaces are not a televised social experiment. We’re not kids who are refreshingly unconstrained by social filters that tell us what is acceptable. We’re being victimised by a culture of pay secrecy. It’s distasteful to talk about money, and that silence is wreaking havoc.
Continue reading...from The Guardian http://bit.ly/2AniEel
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