Equal work, unequal pay


True independence lies within economic independence, to not have to depend on someone for survival, to be your own master. And within the struggle of gender equality lies this problem, the problem of the gender pay gap, where this patriarchal society can’t recognize women for their skill and intelligence but keep falling on the archaic gender roles.

While there is also a lack of representation in the economy for women, with the labor force participation rate being only 10.83% as compared to 71.15% for men, even for those who can participate face considerable gaps, with the wage gap being 34% for full-time employees and wage workers, the wage being Rs 3842 for men while only Rs 1815 for women.

While this holds true throughout the planet, it is considerably worse in India, which ranks 112 in the gender gap index. One obvious reason that comes to mind is cultural barriers, which is sadly one of the primary forces behind the problems Among the lower classes, the family can’t afford to get each of their children educated and the preference is always skewed towards the male child, where girls are either never enrolled or forced to drop out early, as seen by the fact that 70% of the middle school drop out are females. 




Another cultural barrier revolves around maternal leaves, where beyond corporate India, there isn’t much support for to-be mothers. Since childcare is viewed as a women’s role, they are forced to leave their jobs completely. And even after returning to work, they are paid a lower wage as compared to their colleagues. And some have no choice but to take up part-time work, where the pay gap increases to 42%. While for large corporates, it is possible to provide paid leaves, small businesses can’t either bear the cost of training a new employee as a replacement or for paid leave, thus it is up to the government to subsidize these gaps or for men to change their perception around childcare.

Thus, from the bottom to the top of the pyramid, the problem persists and it only has been getting worse since the participation rate for women has dropped through the years. 



With the primary drivers being education and the perception around childcare, the problem isn’t structural but cultural, with the solution revolving around the country’s ability to judge competencies with talent and intelligence, not gender.


- Ishaan Kesarwani


Girl up Neev

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