Closing the pay gap A need of the hour
This disparity is unfair and acts as a major obstacle to both economic growth and social progress
Every International Women’s Day, we hear powerful calls for women’s empowerment and equal pay for equal work. But, the reality hits hard. Across the world, women earn just 77 cents for every dollar earned by men. This wage gap exists in every country and across all sectors, largely because women’s work is undervalued, and they are often concentrated in different, lower-paying jobs.
Let’s start with what India identifies with the most – Bollywood. According to a recent report by Business Insider India, Shah Rukh Khan charges approximately Rs 150-Rs 250 crores per movie, Salman Khan Rs 100-Rs 150 crores, and Akshay Kumar Rs 60-Rs 145 crores. In contrast, leading actresses earn much less: Deepika Padukone makes Rs 15-Rs 30 crores and Alia Bhatt Rs 10-Rs 20 crores. The inequality extends beyond Bollywood to sports. In the BCCI, the highest grade male international cricketers (Grade A+) receive an annual salary of Rs 7 crore, while the highest grade international women cricketers get only Rs 50 lakhs annually. However, the match fee for both men and women Cricketers were made equal recently to promote gender equality.
The gender pay gap issue is real and remains a consistent problem in India. According to the World Inequality Report 2022, men earn 82% of the labour income compared to women’s 18%. Educationists believe society often expects women to assume the primary caregiver role, a deeply ingrained belief that contributes to the gender pay gap. Suchita Vishnoi, CMO of Skillible, echoes this sentiment. “From what I have seen, it often comes down to deeply ingrained societal norms and workplace practices. Women are frequently concentrated in lower-paying sectors, while high-paying industries remain male-dominated. There is also the impact of career breaks - women often take time off for family responsibilities, which can significantly affect their long-term earning potential,” she said.
An Oxfam report mentioned women were less employed in 2021 than in 2020 due to the pandemic. According to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, the lockdown affected women with 37.1% losing their jobs between April 2020 and April 2021, compared to 27.7% of men.
Despite these challenges, women are steadily advancing in their careers. Today, we see more women in leadership roles, but the gender pay gap also persists. Like, globally, female CEOs earn 13% less than their male counterparts, meaning a female CEO earns $87 for every $100 a male CEO makes. This shows that even as women reach higher-paying positions, they still face a pay disparity.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) recently ranked India 135 out of 146 countries in its Global Gender Gap (GGG) Index for 2022. From July 2022 to June 2023, the average monthly salary for an Indian man was `20,666, while a woman earned `15,722.25.
“The gender pay gap in India persists due to entrenched gender biases, occupational segregation, unequal access to education and opportunities, and undervaluation of women’s work. To achieve pay equity, comprehensive solutions include enforcing equal pay legislation, promoting women’s education and skill development, ensuring transparency in salary structures, and implementing robust policies for career advancement and work-life balance,” said Dr Bhawna Priya, Assistant Professor, IIM Raipur.
According to Vishnoi, addressing this issue requires a multi-faceted approach. “First and foremost, we need to get serious about enforcing equal pay legislation. The Equal Remuneration Act is a good start, but it needs teeth. Regular audits and real consequences for non-compliance are essential. I also believe in the power of transparency - companies should be required to conduct and publish gender pay gap analyses. When these disparities are out in the open, it is harder to ignore them. Also, we need to encourage more women to enter high-paying fields like STEM,” she said.
