Evidence from a range of countries shows that increasing the share of household income controlled by women, either through their own earnings or cash transfers changes spending in ways that benefit children. 23 Women continue to participate in labour markets on an unequal basis with men. In 2013, the Male employment-to-population ratio stood at 72.2 percent while the ration for females was 47.1 24 percent. Globally women are paid less than men. Women in most countries earn on average only 60 to 75 percent of men’s wages 2 . 5 Survey participants and media workers that were interviewed stated that there were disparities in the incomes of male and female journalists. This is reflected in the quotes below. “It happened when i was working for a private media institution. I was given a lesser salary for the same job that the previous employee who was male was given a much higher salary when we had the same qualifications. When I queried, I was told by the Managing Director that he had more responsibilities than I did”- Respondent “My female colleagues and I often went to complain about Housing Allowances from a female Assistant Managing Director and we were always given negative verbal answers and sometimes, rude comments” – Respondent Though research participants did make it clear that issues relating to salaries were personal and required access to payslips of colleagues 33 percent of the survey participants did state that financial inequity was an issue in the different media workplaces. The inequities were also not restricted to remuneration only; female media workers had challenges with regard to receiving benefits like housing and travelling allowances. A huge contributing factor to this inequality was the view that women are economic dependants and the likelihood that women are in organised sectors or not represented in unions. If they are organised then those structures are weak. 3.7 Gendered Allocation of Work Gender stereotypes can be a result of gender socialisation. Girls and boys are expected to act in certain ways, and these ways are socialised from birth by family and society. The ones who do not conform to gender stereotypes are often ostracized by peers for being different. Perceptions of gender are deeply rooted and vary wildly within and between cultures, and change over time. But in all cultures, gender determines power and resources for females and males. It is this access to power and resources that also contributes to the allocation of work to journalists based on gender.. Gender stereotypes were highlighted as a major problem in media workplaces and are used to rationalise the gendered division of work. The concept of socialisation will be further explored in the chapter below; the impact of culture and socialisation is evidenced in the quotations below. “I think sometimes the way we are socialised and cultured play a role because there are certain assignments where editors will say‘oh no! We can’t give this to a female journalist because it will have this and that and she won’t be able to do it because she is a woman’ purely based on biological differences and as a result they believe that men can perform certain tasks than women” – Respondent “Yes it’s true; usually there are certain assignments which are only given to men. For example if it’s a political rally they will usually send a male journalist because there is a perception that if anything goes wrong it will be easier for a man to defend himself. A man would be able to run and find himself out of tight situations” – Respondent “Being overlooked for a promotion although I was more qualified than my male colleague” – Respondent 19