In honor of International Women’s Day on March 8th, Marie Claire Australia launched a new campaign on gender inequality that has taken Twitter by storm.
The magazine started off the campaign by posting photos of men walking the streets wearing panel boards reading “Hi Ladies, I earn 17.5% more than you,” and “Hi Ladies, you’re working for free from 3:45 PM today” At the bottom of all the boards read “Thanks, Gender Pay Gap.”
In Australia, the magazine revealed, Australian women have to work an extra 64 days a year to get the same pay as men doing the same work. In its report of a study done by the Equal Pay Alliance, most of the gap occurs because of unconscious bias. “Employers don’t deliberately pay men and women differently – that is illegal,” says the publication of the report. “But they might recruit differently, create different position descriptions, have different expectations or promote differently depending on whether you are a male of female – without even realising it.”
Stage two of the campaign, a video release, has garnered attention–and outrage–around the globe. See the video here, and follow the reset of the campaign with the hash tag #DemandBetter on Twitter.