Gender inequality is a global phenomenon ingrained into the fabric of society, manifesting itself in all aspects of life. In November 2024, India spoke on its commitment to gender equality in the UN Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on the Beijing+30 Review. The statement by the Women and Child Development Ministry highlights the progress made since 2019. This year, India boasts an allocation of $37 billion to gender equality budgeting and has the highest proportion of women in STEM disciplines globally. However, the Ministry’s statement also acknowledges that many issues have yet to be addressed, such as the gender pay gap.
Indeed, a key component of gender inequality is a global gender pay disparity. Closing India’s gender wage gap is the first step towards gender equality in India, allowing women to equally contribute to, and benefit from, India’s economic growth. What is India’s progress on the fight for gender-equal pay, and what measures will it take to reach such equality?
Regarding the wider global context, the fight for gender equality has greatly progressed around the world — with key milestones such as the international Suffrage Movements of the 17th and 18th centuries, which fought for women’s right to vote, and the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which defined gender-based discrimination and committed signatories to increase gender equality. Furthermore, the UN Sustainable Development Goals from 2015 included global women’s empowerment and gender equality within its agenda. Despite the UNSDGs’ 2030 target, however, the gender gap remains significant. A 2024 report by Focus2030 says it would take a staggering 131 years to achieve worldwide gender equality.
Falling participation
Overall, women’s global workforce participation has reduced compared with previous years, with a World Economic Forum (WEF) analysis of 2024 LinkedIn data showing that women account for 42% of the global workforce and 31.7% of senior leaders. A factor that perpetuates gender inequality in the workplace is the notion that women bear the responsibilities of the house (especially regarding childcare); this affects promotions and negotiation outcomes and restricts access to high-paying professions. Additionally, as women’s careers advance, the wage gap between them and men in the same position grows.
While India has ratified a number of conventions relating to women in the workplace, such as the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Employment and Occupation Convention recognising discrimination as a “violation of rights”, it still has a long way to go. The WEF’s Global Gender Gap Report, 2024 places India at 129th out of 146 countries, with 64.1% of its gender equality gap closed. A 2023 report by Azim Premji University indicates that salaried women in India still earn an average of 76% of what salaried men do per year, with self-employed women earning 40% of what self-employed men do. While Azim Premji’s 2023 report found that wage equality for women has been improving since 2004, they also uncovered cause for concern. Controlling for factors such as caste and class revealed increasing discrimination against women that hindered full attainment of gendered wage equality.
Maternal pay gap
Despite improvements in recent years, women often occupy lower-paying jobs and mothers are subject to a maternal pay gap as they often earn less than women without children. This was made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic as women took on increased caregiving responsibilities to the extent that the pay gap grew by 7% from 2019 to 2021. World Bank estimates put the percentage of Indian women working and seeking jobs at 33% of all women in 2023, rising from 26% in 2020; Indian men, contrastingly, had rates of 77% and 74%, respectively. Moreover, the digital gender divide in India remains another obstacle to women’s economic participation. The Annual Status of Education (ASER), 2023 Report highlights how girls, especially in rural areas, have less access to technology than boys and their technical skills are resultantly worse than those of their male counterparts. This means women have unequal access to jobs requiring digital skills which is detrimental in today’s increasingly digital world.
As such, attaining gender equality in India — starting with the gender wage gap — requires a multifaceted approach that both breaks down social norms while concurrently implementing legal frameworks to create more equitable work environments.
Changes to education, care, and architectural infrastructure can address the systemic barriers that perpetuate gender inequality. For instance, investments in the completion of secondary education and soft-skill acquisition can equip women for diverse employment opportunities. This is especially relevant in India as high rates of child marriage in rural areas mean many girls drop out of school. Furthermore, access to high-quality, low-cost childcare through government incentives and tax breaks enhances economic development as by reducing the burden of childcare on women. Commutes to work and school can be made safer through improvements to public infrastructure such as lighting and security. Women and girls would thus have better access to education, support for childcare, and safe travel to work and school without fear.
Social, cultural barriers
Underpinning these infrastructure changes would be efforts to reduce social and cultural barriers to gender equality, such as using community-based initiatives such as equality-focused collectives to address negative stereotypes about women’s contributions in the workforce, provide the childcare and schooling help listed above, or awareness campaigns about women’s safety and bystander intervention.
Corporate-facing legislation and revamped corporate processes are crucial in closing the gender pay gap. Enhancing anti-discrimination laws in India and implementing pay transparency systems are critical in instilling a sense of security and value among woman employees, while inclusive workplace policies that support recruitment and career progression ensure equal access to opportunities.
Moreover, conducting regular gender pay audits can detect and resolve compensation discrepancies alongside providing data for action plans aimed at solving these disparities. Companies which publicly commit to these action plans also demonstrate their dedication to gender equality, presenting them as desirable employers to talented woman workers.
Lastly, women in leadership roles serve as powerful role models. Therefore, promoting qualified women to positions of power is vital. To support this, there must be an implementation of policies such as gender budgeting, flexible work schedules and parental leave for employees regardless of gender.
The government should actively promote gender equality through programmes that support work-life balance to maximise output and ensure economic growth.
In conclusion, closing the gender pay gap in India requires policymakers, employers, and society to foster environments where women can thrive professionally and economically, by implementing legislation and dismantling social norms. Should India manage to eliminate this gender pay gap, it will establish it as a united country willing to break down centuries-old oppressive systems and take a step towards a more equitable future, inspiring other countries to do the same.
aaviendachowdhry@icloud.com
Published – April 13, 2025 04:34 am IST