Unfair work wages for the fair gender
Unless the issue of pay disparity is resolved, there can never be gender equality. The bias against women in the workforce needs to be called out
It doesn’t involve a lot of conscious thinking and analysis to know that lack of pay parity is a systemic issue. It’s rampant and present in every sector. Common sense suggests that if the output of two persons is the same, the remuneration for the work done should also be the same. Then why are women paid far less than men?
Even though the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976, provides for the payment of equal remuneration to men and women workers and prevention of discrimination on the grounds of gender, its implementation on the ground has been abysmal. The real picture, as we all know, is far from being egalitarian. Some glaring reports and rankings corroborate the argument here. For instance, as per the World Inequality Report 2022, in India, men earn 82 per cent of the labour income, whereas women earn 18 per cent of it. The chasm between the percentages is wide and provokes one to think about the sorry state of affairs.
Come to think of it, women doing physical labour are not educated. This explains why despite many of them being aware that they are paid an inferior sum as compared to their male counterparts, they hardly mull over it, let alone raise their voices against the prejudice. And when it comes to urban women facing pay discrimination across sectors, even they find themselves unable to hold forth their argument from a strong position. The reasons for the same are: It is still a deeply patriarchal society where very few women stand up for what rightly belongs to them. They lack the support of fellow women, and the wherewithal needed to fight back. Besides, saying no to work until they’re paid justly is not a viable option as well, for as a matter of fact there will always be another set of women who will be ready to take up their place and work on low remuneration instead.
As per gender parity ranking by the World Economic Forum, India stood at 135th position out of 146 countries globally. Afghanistan predictably ranks last in the list — a country where women are not even allowed to go to schools. This underscores how women are treated as second class citizens in India and across the world.
Women across the professions of entertainment, medicine, law and sports are subjected to great discrimination. We have seen and heard female actors openly crack jokes on how their male counterparts are paid extravagant sums. But the jibes have clearly not made the cut, for they continue to be paid less. In sports, the pay gap is even wider. Forbes released the list of top 100 highest paid athletes in 2018 and, astonishingly, not one woman made it to the list. However, what needs to be admired is that the BCCI recently decided to compensate male and female players equally. A welcome step indeed! However, if other corporations will follow suit remains to be seen.
When it comes to the tech sector — a fast growing and high-paying industry — an entry-level salary for a man is much more than what’s paid to a woman with comparable credentials. One would think that in the education sector, where women heavily dominate men in comparison, the former must be getting paid on a par with men. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. In the medical profession, women are entering in record numbers and making a stellar impact, yet when it comes to remuneration, they are paid less despite putting in an equal amount of hours.
According to a review by the World Economic Forum, the pay gap amongst doctors worldwide is due to an under-representation of women in the highest-paid positions. It is also a question as to why only 15% of lawyers in India are women. The common perception is that the work environment in this field is hostile at times and the calibre of women is not taken on face value. And again, there’s a huge difference in the sum paid to a male lawyer and a female lawyer for similar cases.
Most women are not hired for managerial and decision-making roles as the employer always dreads that women may not be able to dedicate themselves completely to the task at hand. Some even think that women are not on a par with men when it comes to intellectual abilities and stimulation. This assumption makes them averse to promoting women or even hiring them in the first place. Furthermore, a study by IIM Ahmedabad suggests that the more educated a woman is, the more is the pay gap with an equally educated male counterpart.
What is the way forward to put an end to this almost vicious practice that undermines the agency of women, the quality work they do, their toil and the amount of hours they put in? The solution to this is when companies learn to be all inclusive and take the baton upon themselves to ensure equal pay for equal work. They should encourage more transparency in this regard. Women too must rally for equal pay for equal work. The issue of pay gap has not gained traction, as very few talk about it. This needs to change, as without pay parity, gender equality is a far-fetched dream.
(The author writes on news pertaining to women rights, and social and environmental issues).
Source: The Pioneer News
