UN Women

Your Chair Brooke and Admin Audrey at York University MUN Conference, February 2022

Position papers due Monday April 17; email position papers to carmodyb.[email protected]

Contact Skyler at [email protected] with any questions

Committee Chairs: Brooke Carmody, Skyler Rosenberg

Admin: Ole Aguilar, Audrey Sanders

Forum: UN Women

Question: Closing the pay gap

Room: 606

Topic Synopsis

Background Information

The gender pay gap, as defined by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe is, “the difference in earnings of men and women: what women on average take out of employment in monetary terms relative to men. It is calculated as the difference between average earnings of men and women as a percentage of average earnings of men.” This percentage, although an average, is telling of the inequities women face. According to the UN news, “While individual characteristics such as education, working time, occupational segregation, skills, or experience explain part of the gender pay gap, ILO (International Labour Organization) says that a large part is due to discrimination based on one’s gender or sex.” The bias against women has been an ongoing problem for decades and the countries of the world must come together to close the pay gap completely. This issue, although more prevalent among some countries than others, is rooted in systemic inequalities. The UN has spent years fighting the pay gap, dedicated to developing a better future for women. UN Women issues are important to continue to fight in order to promote a fair and inclusive environment for women across the globe.

United Nations Involvement

The UN has been working hard to close the gap between men and women’s pay. “Worldwide, women only make 77 cents for every dollar earned by men.” Another statement from UN Women focuses on the fact that women’s work is under-valued. Women of color, immigrants, and mothers are disproportionately impacted by this problem. The UN has a campaign called #StopTheRobbery, advocating for awareness on the pay gap. In less developed countries women are less likely to receive highly ranked jobs or only make up small percentages of work forces. #StoptheRobbery campaign moves to educate the world on these injustices. Another program, the Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC) brings together a diverse group of women with perspectives from different areas of expertise to speak and advocate for women’s rights using their own experiences. They work to reduce and close the pay gap at global, regional, and national levels. EPIC promotes International Equal Pay Day, September 18. The goal of International Equal Pay Day is to draw attention to the pay gap that many people deny. Women also receive proportionally less access to education than men. Receiving education at a college level is proven to open doors to better opportunities and jobs. College-degree holders receive better median income, job security, and higher lifetime earnings. According to UN Women “Every year of additional schooling of primary school increases wages by 10-20 percent.” Education is clearly correlated with employment and job opportunities and women on average are not given the same access to education as men.

Questions to consider:

1. How has the pay gap affected your country?

2. What solutions would your country propose to close the pay gap?

3. What UN Women movements have promoted closing the pay gap? (NGOs, rallies, ect.)

4. Are women given the same opportunities for education and work as men?

5. How does access to education promote job opportunities?

6. How does your country suggest the UN acquire funding for your country’s goals, projects, or organizations? (existing UN Women funding or otherwise)

7. What is wage / salary transparency and is it important?

8. What is a wage floor?

Works Cited

“Closing Gender Pay Gaps Is More Important than Ever  | UN News.” United Nations, United Nations, https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/09/1126901.

“Explainer: Everything You Need to Know about Pushing for Equal Pay.” UN Women – Headquarters, https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2020/9/explainer-everything-you-need-to-know-about-equal-pay.

Epic - Equal Pay International Coalition. https://www.equalpayinternationalcoalition.org/.

“Equal Pay for Work of Equal Value.” UN Women – Headquarters, https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/csw61/equal-pay.

“Gender Pay Gap.” UNECE, https://unece.org/statistics/video/gender-pay-gap.

International Labour Organization, https://www.ilo.org/global/lang--en/index.htm.

Mohsin, Haroon. “International Equal Pay Day.” National Today, 16 June 2022, https://nationaltoday.com/international-equal-pay-day/.

Why You Should Join Epic - Equal Pay International Coalition. https://www.equalpayinternationalcoalition.org/the-coalition

Your Chair Skyler in London on an MUN trip, February 2022

What to Expect in Committee

ROLL The  chairs  will begin by taking roll: respond with either  “present”  or “present and voting.”

A motion must be made to begin debate: raise your  placard  according to whether you are “for” or “against” starting debate.

OPEN SPEAKERS LIST  After debate has begun, a motion will be made to open the speaker’s list.

SPEECHES  (most speeches are 1 ½ - 2 minutes in length). Committees will sometimes begin with general debate, but most conferences today combine general and substantive speeches from the beginning. This means you would talk briefly about the background and then add solutions.

COMMENTS after each speech usually 2-3 comments will be allowed (30 seconds in length).  A comment is a great way to let the committee know your country's stance on an issue and get your voice heard. In a diplomatic way you can agree or disagree with the previous speaker and let the committee know what solutions your country would support.

CAUCUS/informal consultations  Throughout the debate, you have the option of motioning for caucuses.

Caucuses are periods during committee where all the delegates will be allowed to get up from their seats and informally discuss the topic in various groups. The objective during the caucus is to form groups with individuals who you can write a resolution with. A resolution is just a solution to the problem.

A motion for a moderated caucus requires you to list the total time and topic or purpose.

The motion for an unmoderated caucus goes as follows: “Motion for an unmoderated caucus of [total time] for the purpose of [purpose].”

The motion for a moderated caucus goes as follows: “Motion for a moderated caucus of [total time] with [speaking time] speaking time on the topic of [topic].”

FORMAL DEBATE/Formal caucus  At the end of debate, and after all resolutions are finished, there will be a motion to move into formal debate. Formal debate is where representatives from each resolution group will present their resolution. This form of debate also gives delegates the chance to ask questions on each resolution.

Each group is generally granted 7-10 minutes.

1/3 of your resolution's sponsors are allowed to be at the front of the room for the presentation of your resolution.

When in formal caucus and not presenting, you should be paying close attention to the ideas behind the resolution that is being presented and the details of how those goals will be achieved. Try to ask questions that challenge the presenters to elaborate on their plans and defend their ideas.

MOTIONING FOR A FORMAL CAUCUS The motion for a formal caucus goes as follows: “Motion for a formal caucus of [total time] per resolution group.”

VOTING BLOC  After all the resolutions have been presented, there will be a motion to move into the voting bloc, where all the delegates will vote on each resolution. Before moving into the voting bloc the chair will request 2 speeches for and 2 speeches against moving into the voting bloc. You have the option of voting “for,” “against,” or you can abstain from voting. The chairs will determine which resolutions pass or fail.