Equal Pay Day: Eternal Pregnancy

Wouldn't it be better to postpone having children until you've retired? That may be the only solution if women want to earn as much as their male counterparts. In Belgium, women still have to bridge a 24% wage gap before they earn as much as men. As part of its latest spot for Equal Pay Day, mortierbrigade suggests that it's better to wait until the end of your career to have kids. The plot follows the life of a pregnant woman and conveys a powerful message: “Women still have to choose between a career and a family ”. In 2020, women earn 24% less than men on average. This means that they have to work 3 extra months before they’ve bridged the wage gap. That gap can be attributed in part to the arrival of children. This often curbs female careers because almost half of women (44%) end up working part-time, as opposed to one in ten men (11%). To create awareness about this inequality, mortierbrigade and partner in crime Lionel Goldstein have created an advertising spot that distinctly advises women to curtail their desire to have children until they’re retired. The spot is being launched on the occasion of European Equal Pay Day (27 February). This year, the awareness campaign is also taking a close look at the self-employed income gap. In fact, Eline De Munck, an entrepreneur, actress and eyewear designer, is the organisation’s ambassador for 2020. In closing, we have to point out that if all women were to work full time, they’d still earn 10% less than men. Besides different office hours, the wage gap can also be attributed to persistent sexist stereotyping, i.e. women being over-represented in underrated and low-paying sectors like healthcare and cleaning. And, on top of that, only one in three executives is female.