By: Omotayo Oyewole, Esq.
Gender pay gap is pervasive in Africa, and it hinders the achievement of true gender equality. According to the UN Women Factsheet (2022), women in sub-Saharan Africa typically earn 30% less than men, while in North Africa, women earn 14% less than their male counterparts; with significant variations among countries.
This issue cuts through all industries in Africa, including healthcare. Closing the gender pay gap in healthcare is not just a matter of economic justice, but it is crucial to ensuring a fair and sustainable healthcare system that values the contribution of all its professionals.
In Africa, the gender pay gap in the healthcare industry is apparent. Women make up a significant number of the workforce, yet, they often find themselves earning less than their male counterparts for similar roles. This is a result of several issues including occupational segregation, lack of equal opportunities for advancement, negotiation dynamics, and implicit biases. The consequences of this gender pay gap extend beyond individual financial hardships, it affects overall workforce motivation and job satisfaction. Potentially, this compromises the quality of patient care.
However, it is important to note that the number of women working in the healthcare industry varies when the level of economic development within the population is analyzed. An official report by the International Labour Organization notes that, in Low-to-Medium Income Countries (LMIC), women constitute 63.8% of the workforce in the healthcare sector, while in High-Income Countries (HIC), this figure rises to 75.3%. Notably, countries with a higher number of women in the healthcare industry do not necessarily report a higher remuneration for women. This is because there is what I call a fragmented representation. That means, for high-paid roles, such as medical and specialist doctors and pharmacists, men are significantly more highly represented than women.
Conversely, lower-paid healthcare roles, such as nurses, nutritionists, and laboratory technicians, experience a higher female representation than male. Midwives and nurses are predominantly women with 96% and 73% respectively, and they make up the highest proportion of female health workers. Consequently, it follows that although women are more represented in the healthcare industry than men when compared on a gender-pay basis, men receive significantly higher pay than women.
CarePoint has taken action to ensure a fair hiring process and equal pay between our women and men team members. We have long recognized the importance of diversity in leadership roles, with women representing 51% of the directors on our companies’ boards of directors. This emphasis on gender diversity at the highest level of leadership aligns with our principles of social responsibility and also contributes to a more inclusive and innovative work environment. The presence of women on our boards sends a powerful message, inspiring employees at all levels that they, too, can strive for leadership positions, regardless of gender.
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In our brand companies, gender balance in hiring processes has a parallel translation to equal remuneration for employees who work in the same role. At Rabito Clinics Limited, women make up 62% of the workforce, at Meridian Health Group Limited, it is 69%, at Lily Hospital Limited, it is 57% and at CarePoint Hospitals, it is 69%.
As an institution, we are strategic in our approach to resolving issues of gender pay disparity. At the grassroots level, we are committed to inviting all persons to apply for roles, regardless of gender. Additionally, we take it a step further – we enforce an equal-pay policy for all staff members. In the past, we observed that a significant number of the applications we received for prospective management roles were mostly from men. Noting this, we decided to establish a recruitment system that actively sought applications from qualified women. Our system of recruitment ensures that there is a palpable balance in the number of applications we consider from men, as there are from women. Our process has been successful, as presently, CarePoint has a female representation of 40% in its management team. We are implementing the same process across our brand companies, to replicate its success.
In addition to actively seeking sufficient applications from both women and men in our recruitment process, CarePoint has also taken further steps to reduce the gender pay gap within our group.
Our first approach was to rigorously ensure equal pay policies across our group to ensure that individuals performing similar roles receive equal compensation, regardless of gender. These policies go a long way to eliminate systemic biases in salary structures, as well as promote a more transparent and fair remuneration system.
In addition to establishing the policies, we openly discuss our compensation structures with team members. We believe that this will empower our employees to understand their worth, advocate for fair pay, and hold CarePoint accountable for maintaining equitable pay practices. Furthermore, periodic salary audits are conducted by our people and culture department (working with our boards’ human resources and compensation committees) to monitor and assess our compensation practices. These audits serve as a proactive mechanism to identify and rectify any gender-based pay disparities, ensuring that we maintain a fair and consistent approach to compensation.
In Africa, where healthcare is a critical component of societal well-being, addressing the gender pay gap is not only a matter of fairness but also a strategic imperative for building a sustainable and inclusive healthcare system. Closing the gender pay disparity requires a comprehensive and sustained effort from healthcare organizations, policymakers, and individual professionals. By implementing equal pay policies, promoting transparency, fostering diversity, equity and inclusion, and investing in employee development, we actively contribute to a more equitable healthcare sector.
As other companies join in our mission, a collective commitment to gender equality will not only improve the lives of healthcare professionals but also enhance the overall quality and effectiveness of healthcare services across the continent.
