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The Gender Pay Gap

Context: International Labour Organization’s latest Global Wage Report ”suggests that the COVID-19 crisis inflicted massive downward pressure on wages and disproportionately affected women’s total wages compared to men. This greater wage reduction for women means that the pre-existing gender pay gap has widened.

Why does the gap exist?

• Gender Pay gap can be attributed to discrimination based on one’s gender or sex.
• Gender-based discriminatory practices include:
  • Lower wages paid to women for work of equal value.

• Undervaluation of women’s work in highly feminised occupations and enterprises.
• Motherhood pay gap — lower wages for mothers compared to non-mothers.

Gender Pay Gap in India

• According to the labour force survey data of the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO). Indian women earned, on an average, 28% less compared to their male counterparts in 2018-19.
• The pandemic reversed decades of progress as preliminary estimates from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2020-21 show an increase in the gap of 7% between 2018-19 and 2020-21.

What has the government done to minimize the Gap?

• Minimum Wages Act in 1948, followed by the adoption of the Equal Remuneration Act in 1976. In 2019, India carried out comprehensive reforms in both the legislation and enacted the Code on Wages.
• MGNREGA benefited rural women workers and helped reduce the gender pay gap,
• In 2017, the Government amended the Maternity Benefit Act of 1961, which increased the ‘maternity leave with pay protection’ from 12 weeks to 26 weeks for all women working in establishments employing 10 or more workers. This is expected to reduce the motherhood pay gap.
• Skill India Mission and MUDRA loans for women entrepreneurship

Equal pay for work of equal value is necessary to close the gender pay gap. Closing the gender pay gap is key to achieving social justice for working women, as well as economic growth for the nation as a whole.