Splitting the bill on dates makes no sense

There’s a sad reason why Aussie women shouldn’t be paying this bill — and it highlights a big problem that isn’t going away.

The Gender Pay Gap is the reason women shouldn’t pay for dinner.

COMMENT

Tuesday is Valentine’s Day, and if you’re a woman, you shouldn’t be splitting the dinner bill. Yes, I know I’m stern, but this is in the name of feminism.

Valentine’s Day means two things: seeing frantic men at the Coles flower section at 5.30pm and going on dates.

It is practically national date day, so what better day to make a point about the fact women still haven’t reached pay parity?

Splitting the bill comes from the position that both men and women are equal but we still aren’t earning equally.

Modern dating usually involves trying to decode the use of emoji’s and splitting the date bill.

After all, no one wants to feel like they owe anyone anything, but there’s one big problem with that line of thinking — women aren’t paid equally.

Women are earning less than men but expected to split the bill now. Source: Istock via Credit:SrdjanPav

According to the Government’s Gender Workplace Equality Agency (WGEA), the national gender pay gap in Australia sits at 14.1 per cent.

To break that down, on average, women bring home $263.90 less weekly than men. So, men you have no excuse — you are earning more than enough to cover dinner out.

It can also be way worse! 14.1 per cent is ONLY the national average. For instance if you live in Western Australia, that state’s pay gap is wider at a staggering 22.4 per cent.

If you are a woman and want to be wealthier, I’d suggest moving to South Australia, where the gender pay gap sits at 7.4 per cent. Still, there’s not a state in Australia where there isn’t a pay gap. Across our sunburnt country women are earning less then men.

So, if you’re a man taking a woman on a date tonight and you want to keep things fair, consider that you are likely earning more than her and therefore it should be your shout.

Quite frankly going halves doesn’t make much sense when men and women are bringing home very different amounts of bacon.

Harry should have bought Sally more meals. Source: Films/Titles/When/Harry/Met/Sally

Why has it become normalised in our dating culture that splitting the bill is empowering when it is really just disempowering women financially?

I know women want to pay their own way. But paying your own way isn’t always a smart idea when the patriarchy’s working very hard to keep you financially disadvantaged.

Considering The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) the peak policy, research and advocacy body for Australia’s superannuation industry has found that Australian women on average retire with 23 per cent less superannuation than Australian men, consider saving your pennies and letting the men in your life foot the dinner bill.

The way we romance has definitely changed, but modern dating has been set up to completely ignore the fact that women are still earning less than men. So, tonight on your Valentine’s Date, if you’re with a guy that wants to split the bill, point out that there’s nothing equal about paying equally in these unfair times.