Closing the Gap

Posted on | April 28, 2008 |

by Fara Warner

Recent events—the Senate filibuster of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the first-ever women’s business conference in Saudi Arabia—has me pondering how far we have come and far we still have to go in recognizing the power of women on a global scale.

I won’t debate the pros or cons of the Ledbetter act here. But the proposed act, which would extend the period of time a person has to sue for pay discrimination, reminded me once again of the gap between the salaries of men and women. The gap—a woman makes 77 cents for every $1 a man makes in the U.S.—remains a critical issue and not only for female employees and the companies for which they work.

It’s also a critical issue for the American economy, which depends so heavily on consumers.

Consider if women, the most world’s important consumers, had that extra money in their purses? How would they spend it? It might go toward a down payment on a house. It might help buy a new car or help kick start a remodeling project on a home. It is quite possible that women would save or invest those extra funds. Women tend to invest less in retirement accounts than men. Is that because they have less cushion every two weeks when their paychecks arrive?

We can debate the merits or de-merits of legislation that seek to create equality and close the pay gap. But maybe instead of discussing whether such legislation would cause pay discrimination lawsuits to skyrocket, we should be discussing the long-term benefits of putting more money into women’s pockets. Not only is it equitable and just for a woman of equal education and skill to make as much as her male counterpart, it is sound business as evidenced by research that shows the fastest way to grow an economy is invest in a woman—her education most notably—because she will turn around and invest in her community and her family.

American women have shown the rest of the world just how that financial equation works. But our example isn’t sterling as long as the pay gap remains.

Still more and more countries are waking up to the power of women both as consumers and producers. While Saudi Arabia has a long way to go in catching up with other countries—even compared to some of its Middle East neighbors—it is showing signs of recognizing the power of its women.

The country is hosting its first women’s economic forum this week to focus on women and business issues. Women are now allowed to apply for commercial licenses, but only 14 percent of businesses in Saudi Arabia are run by women and make up only 13.5 percent of the country’s workforce.

Those statistics lag far behind countries such as the U.S. and those in Western Europe where women own at least one-third of businesses and more than 50 percent of the workforce is made up of women.

However, according to the director of the businesswomen’s center at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, women hold 35 percent of the kingdom’s bank accounts. The banking industry in Saudi Arabia has taken notice and shifted its marketing to reach women investors. Several years ago, banks began offering women’s-only branches because of Saudi Arabia’s strict laws that segregate men and women. Banque Saudi Fransi went so far as to create a women’s advertising campaign to reach women who were working outside the home. See this International Herald Tribune story for more details.

Saudi women also are joining the global fitness craze I touched on in my last blog post about Adidas and its focus on women in China. Health clubs such as Bally’s and Gold’s are opening up in Saudi Arabia as well. See this article in Arabian Business.

We still have far to go in closing the pay gap both in the U.S. and around the world. But women are making strides even countries such as Saudi Arabia where only a few years ago women weren’t even allowed to own a business.

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