India ranked lowest among the BRIC countries viz. Brazil, Russia, India and China. In fact, statistics showed that the average annual income of an Indian working woman was less than one-third that of an Indian man!
Gender bias
“A woman is paid a lesser salary than a man due to the assumption that a woman will not put in as many hours of work as a man will! This assumption primarily drives employers to believe that a man deserves a higher pay than his female counterpart at a given post.” says Albino Mascarenhas, Head of HR at a media firm.
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Sunidhi Pradhan, Operations Manager at a BPO says, “In metros and in corporate offices with international standards, gender biases do not exist! As a matter of fact, in our company, employment and promotions are given on the basis of qualification and experience and are not influenced by gender.”
Women bosses, really?
The survey also revealed that only 10% Indian women are employed at senior management positions.
“In my opinion, India is progressing. So while inequality in salaries may exist in certain towns of India, jobs are now becoming more
professional and are conforming to international standards of working.” Sunidhi adds.
Albino states, “Traditionally, men were the bread winners of the family. Things are now changing! Women too are gradually getting on
par with men in offices. However, women are hardly entrusted with senior positions because it is believed that a woman won’t be able to do justice to her job owing to her responsibilities towards her home and family!”
The Government's role
The Indian Constitution has recognised the principle of ‘Equal Pay for Equal Work’ for men and women. However, the government itself has failed to implement its principle.
Under its employment schemes, the government employs lakhs of women who are paid way below the minimum wage.