Income disparity

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Income disparity or wage gap is a term used to describe inequities and asymmetry in the distribution of wealth and income between socio-economic groups within society. The term also has many other definitions:

Common examples include:

  • The income gap between the wealthy and the poor.
  • lower average income for females than males (see Gender gap below)

Contents

[edit] Income disparity in Malaysia

Chart of Malaysia's Income disparity.
Chart of Malaysia's Income disparity.

According to the UNDP 1997 Human Development Report,[1] and the 2004 United Nations Human Development (UNHDP) report,[2] Malaysia has the highest income disparity between the rich and poor in Southeast Asia, greater than that of Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia. The UNHDP Report shows that the richest 10% in Malaysia control 38.4% of the economic income as compared to the poorest 10% who control only 1.7%. Kuala Lumpur as the capital of Malaysia has an increasing number of squatters, shanty towns and slums, and is also seeing an increase in criminal acts such as snatch theft, robberies, and rape.

[edit] Gender gap

In the context of economic inequality, gender gap generally refers to the systemic differences in the social and economic roles and wages of men and women, or boys and girls. There is a debate to what extent this is the result of gender differences, lifestyle choices, or because of discrimination.

The widespread mechanization of industry has been accompanied by a shift in gender differentials in highly industrialized countries. However, this closing of the gender gap has not necessarily been followed in less industrialized countries, where women may earn less than two thirds that of men.[3]

A United Nations report found that women working in manufacturing earned the following percentages in relation to men in 2003. The statistics are based on wages for all male and female workers, regardless of age, experience, or other factors.[4]

Country Wage %
Botswana 53
Colombia 65
Paraguay 53
Japan 60
Singapore 61
Sri Lanka 81
Denmark 87
France 78
Germany 74
Hungary 74
Ireland 69
Latvia 82
Lithuania 77
Malta 92
Sweden 91
Ukraine 69
United Kingdom 79
New Zealand 80

In 2004, women's wages in the USA were 76.5% of men's wages.[5] However, some studies, such as those done by the Independent Women's Forum, conclude that when taking into account variables when comparing male and female employment within the United States - type of job, hours worked in a week, tenure, benefits (for example maternity leave) - women make 98% of men's income. For further information, see Male-female income disparity in the USA .

According to the Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) at the London School of Economics, it would take 150 years for the income gap between the two genders to close up due to discrimination and ineffective government policies.[6]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Asian Analysis 1998 by Asean Focus Group, Professor Michael Leigh Director Institute of East Asian Studies University Malaysia, Sarawak.
  2. ^ Speech at the Meeting between DAPSY National and Perak State Leaders In Teluk Intan by Lim Guan Eng, If the 2004 Petronas profits of RM 35.6 billion (US$9.89 billion) were distributed to the poor, Malaysia would not have wealth distribution problems.
  3. ^ Gender, Informality and Poverty: A Global Review S.V. Sethuraman, WIEGO, October 1998
  4. ^ Statistics and indicators on women and men: Table 5g Women's wages relative to men's United Nations Statistics Division, 22 April 2005
  5. ^ This number compares the income off all men and women who work 35 hours or more each week. See Institute for Women's Policy Research, 'Women's earnings fall: U.S. Census Bureau finds rising gender wage gap', media release, 27 August 2004, retrieved Dec 2007
  6. ^ "Women have to wait 150 yrs for equal pay: Study". The Indian Express. Retrieved on 2006-07-29.

[edit] External links