Arquette launches campaign to end gender pay gap

United Nations: Oscar winner Patricia Arquette on Monday helped launch a campaign at the United Nations to address the gender pay gap as Iceland said it would become the first country in the world to enforce wage equity.

“Women can’t wait anymore,” the American actress said at an event held during the annual UN women’s conference, the Commission on the Status of Women. On a global average, women only make 77 cents for every dollar men earn.

A recent study by the International Labour Organization warned that without stronger measures, it will take 70 years to close the gender wage gap.

Arquette, who won an Oscar for her role in Boyhood, applauded Iceland for its groundbreaking move to end pay inequality, saying it “will be really interesting to see what happens in that country.”

Iceland’s Parliament will soon adopt legislation requiring employers to show that they are offering equal pay.

Iceland’s social affairs and equality minister Thorsteinn Vinglundsson said the measures could eradicate pay inequality by 2022 in his country. “I don’t think any employee needs to work for a company that discriminates. I don’t think any manager in a company wants to discriminate,” said Vinglundsson.

Olympic gold medalist and soccer star Abby Wambach said women face pay inequality in every field, but this discrimination was blatant in sports. The two-week women’s conference focusses on women’s economic empowerment in office.