Pope Francis today has called the fact that women earn less than men in many countries “pure scandal.”

He made his comments during his weekly audience at the Vatican. According to Italian news service ANSA, he said:  "as Christians we must become more demanding, for example, by supporting the right of equal pay for equal work, why should it be taken for granted that women must earn less than men? The disparity is pure scandal."

The gender wage gap is an issue that’s been debated frequently in many industrialized countries.  

What’s worth noting is how much that disparity is amplified in the developing world. According to ActionAid, a prominent anti-poverty organization, the gender pay-disparity costs women in developing countries more than $9 trillion annually.

To give some perspective, that’s more than the combined income of Britain, France and Germany.

Pope Francis’ comments come just days after a a Vatican official made a strong statement addressing the moral imperative of tackling climate change because of the outsized effects it will have on the world’s poor.

These are messages global citizens of any faith and creed should be able to get behind.

Let’s follow his example. Sign the petition on this page to call on world leaders to protect the rights of women and girls everywhere.

Editorial

Demand Equity

Pope Francis just said what we were all thinking about the gender wage-gap

By Tom Blake