On the heels of a UN report that women worldwide are paid 24% less than men, Pope Francis called for equal pay for men and women who do the same job, The Washington Post reports. To have anything less is "pure scandal," he said.
The UN Women report released on April 27 shows depressing statistics for the female population in the workplace. Worldwide, 83% of domestic positions are held by women and nearly half of them do not earn minimum wage. In developing nations, 75% of women's work is informal and unprotected.
Pope Francis made his remarks about equal pay during a speech about the importance of marriage. When discussing why fewer people are choosing to marry, he was adamant that the women's rights movement was not to blame for the declining marriage rates worldwide. To blame women's rights, Pope Francis argued, "is a form of chauvinism that always wants to control the woman."
This is not the first time a Pope has spoken out in favor of equal pay. In 1995, Pope John Paul II discussed the issue in his "letter to women," stating that "there is an urgent need to achieve real equality in every area: equal pay for equal work, protection for working mothers, fairness in career advancements, equality of spouses with regard to family rights."
According to a report from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research released last month, women in the U.S. won't achieve wage parity until 2058.
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