You have probably heard that people keep fighting for LGBT equality or ethnic equality and progress has been seen. However, for the long-lasting battle on gender pay gap, the wrestling looks the same severe as that in the past across the globe. The fact that up to now there is no country in the world where women earn more than men do is still daunting, so as not to mention Asia. According to the research by OECD, all developed countries recorded gap between the women’s salary and the men’s salary, ranging from 1.8 percent to 36.7 percent less than the male median wage, where Japan and South Korea were ranked as one of the bottom three countries.

The Youth Mobility Report established by DotAsia Organisation featured the gender and income equality for 20 Asian localities. Ironically, Japan and South Korea topped the list among other Asian localities, especially those developing countries. It tells us that the inequality in the salary between the sexes is far more serious in Asian localities. Those fall to the bottom of the list, including India, Bhutan, Indonesia, Laos and the Philippines. Those having narrower gender pay gap in Asia belongs to Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Cambodia.
It would become one of your concerns if you decide to establish your career in one of these Asian localities. Asia still got a long way to go. Here are few Asian localities that worth looking at:

Editorial photo: Asian woman in front of graffiti wall

Philippines

Youth Mobility Index Gender And Income rank:  #20
The Philippines was renowned as one of the most gender-inclusive countries in the world after being ranked by the World Economic Forum. However, when it comes to the income, the Filipino women on average earn $100 for every $140 that men earn. Luckily, the country is doing a lot in training up women with skills such as management and technology, so that they could compete with men in more occupational fields.

Editorial photo: Male in India taking photos

India

Youth Mobility Index Gender And Income rank:  #19
The social issue of preference for boys exists for long in India, leading to a lower social status of women. The role of Aamir Khan in the movie <Dangal > is rare in the reality. So it is not surprising to expect the big gender pay gap in India.  According to Monster Salary Index, in India, women earn 20 percent less than men do.

Editorial photo: Back of woman standing in street wearing traditional Japanese garment

Japan

Youth Mobility Index Gender And Income rank: #2
Contrary to India, Japan is a high-income and high-education locality with an advanced economy, modern civilization, and democracy. But what is similar to India is its frustrating gender inequality that persists in the society. The unequal power relation between the genders exists everywhere, especially in workplace hierarchy. As a result, the pay gap between the two genders falls under 27 percent, which is considered high internationally but it was relatively low in Asia.

Editorial photo: Asian female staring from inside a shop window

South Korea

Youth Mobility Index Gender And Income rank:  #2
As per the OECD, in South Korea, an average male working full times earns nearly 37 percent more than the female one. The lack of career-minded mentality in women could be one of the reasons since most women choose to leave their jobs after getting married and having children.

Editorial photo: Asian woman gazing out window on a buss or train

Taiwan

Youth Mobility Index Gender And Income rank:  #1
According to a survey published by MasterCard, Taiwan was ranked high on the list of women occupying the leadership positions in government authorities, making Taiwan a role model for gender equality. The equality also brings a narrower gap between the sexes. Research showed that women’s pay lags 14 percent behind men’s.
In order to close the gap, there is a need for these localities to catch up and step up. To create healthy work culture, or carry out educational campaigns on the importance of gender equality could possibly make some social change over time, fostering more equal opportunities in these Asian localities.

To discover what moves young Asians, learn more about the Youth Mobility Index (YMi.asia) at www.ymi.asia

YMI 2018 Reports
PDF HTML YMI 2018 REPORT
PDF ALL LOCALES
PDF HTML BANGLADESH
PDF HTML BHUTAN
PDF HTML CHINA
PDF HTML HONG KONG
PDF HTML INDONESIA
PDF HTML INDIA
PDF HTML JAPAN
PDF HTML CAMBODIA
PDF HTML KOREA
PDF HTML LAOS
PDF HTML SRI LANKA
PDF HTML MYANMAR
PDF HTML MALAYSIA
PDF HTML NEPAL
PDF HTML PHILIPPINES
PDF HTML PAKISTAN
PDF HTML SINGAPORE
PDF HTML THAILAND
PDF HTML TAIWAN
PDF HTML VIETNAM
Get out of Taiwan

Get out of Taiwan

Taiwan is a nice place. This is the regular comment from almost everyone who travelled to Taiwan. However, for those young Taiwanese looking for jobs they want, they might not give the same comment. In Taiwan, though the overall employment rate remains...

read more
Hong Kong, a paradise for startup entrepreneurs

Hong Kong, a paradise for startup entrepreneurs

If you are asked what makes an ideal environment for startups, you would probably say money, people and support. Hong Kong exactly got everything an entrepreneur would need to start up a business. Additionally, the locality enjoys its proximity to mainland China which brings more benefits to the entrepreneurs in Hong Kong.

read more
Learn from sustainable South Korea

Learn from sustainable South Korea

Among 20 Asian localities, South Korea is the one on the top of the sustainable development index list, under United Nations Development Programme. According to Youth Mobility Index, the SDG index is one of the factors composing to the highest score in...

read more
What makes Bhutanese youth unhappy?

What makes Bhutanese youth unhappy?

When you hear the Bhutanese government always emphasizes national happiness over economic growth, it spontaneously projects an image in our mind where you see a spectacular landscape featuring pristine mountains with monasteries under the blue sky, and the people wearing ethnic dresses and praying to religious wheels.

read more