Fight for equal pay: Fair enough!

Aradhika Sharma

IN India, the pay gap between genders is a real issue. Informal sectors like agriculture, labour, domestic help, tuition centres and retail businesses shamelessly exploit women. Yet, it’s not only the women in the unorganised work sector who face disparity; it exists in the  private sector as well,” says Dr Anuradha Sharma, who runs Hamari Kaksha, a Chandigarh-based NGO that works to provide education to underprivileged children and their mothers. However, she feels that despite all societal pressures, it is high time that women started asserting themselves and increasing their capacities and confidence.

The good news is: More and more women in the global workforce are speaking out and struggling against disparity of pay at the workplace. According to the Monster Salary index, 2016, gender continues to be a noteworthy factor in shaping salaries in India. A large number of women in the workplace are concerned about the disparity and want the management to address it.

According to the World Economic Forum, there is no country on this earth where women make as much as men for the same work. In their 2016 Global Gender Gap Report, it is estimated that, at the current rates, it would take another 170 years to close the global pay gap between men and women.

India ranks 108 on the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2017, which looks at a number of dimensions — from economic opportunities to political empowerment and healthcare. At this abysmal position, while the country is still struggling to include more women in its formal workforce, the gap in the gender pay has only recently started to be talked about.

“We cannot look at gender pay gap in isolation,” says socialist Dr Indrani Mukherjee. “Gender equality needs to look at the five key points identified by the UN — sustainable livelihood, non-discrimination and equal opportunities, quality education, access to healthcare and fight against violence. All these issues find their roots in the system of patriarchy that exists in the country and finds its manifestations in gender pay disparity.”

There’s an invisible yet powerful role — definition that takes place in the very young very early in life that reiterates the disparity between genders. The patriarchal attitude drills in the belief that women — even though they’re contributing to the family income — are homemakers and child-rearers and the men support the family. The women must thus sacrifice their ambitions to men.

Liza Chawla runs an NGO, Choti si Asha, a women’s income generation group, which runs a project wherein the women from the slums make bags and interior accessories and sell them on online portals and to corporates. Talking of her experience at the grassroots level, she says, “I noticed that men feel entitled to more pay as compared to women and unfortunately, women feel the same way!  At one point, when Choti si Asha had an overload of work, we kept a male karigar. He felt that he ought to be paid more than the women even though at times he was working less. He said he had to support a family, etc. and the women actually felt sorry for with him! In sympathising with him, the women were prepared to accept his sense of privilege and strengthened the stereotype that the man is the bread winner and caters to the needs of the family. Ironically, while doing the same work, they willingly slipped into a peripheral role!”

It’s important to bring women into non-traditional jobs. This helps in breaking down stereotypes, and changing the lives of the individual, the family and the nation. Delhi-based Azad Foundation led by Meenu Vadhera, for example, runs Sakha Cabs for women. The ‘Women on Wheels’ programme enables economically challenged women to become professional drivers to enable them to earn their livelihoods with dignity. Thus, training women in professions like vehicle mechanics, construction, driving, plumbing and mobile-phone fixing will lead to transformative lifestyles and remuneration. Women have to proclaim equality and not underestimate themselves even while handling physical work. 

“I have always encouraged my daughter to work hard physically, run, do sports, push when the car stalled, fix the fuses, climb on ladders and take down trunks —  everything that boys are traditionally meant to do. I do have a son as well but I never limited the girl. Today, she’s an engineer with NASA. Equal pay is her right and for her, it is non-negotiable,” says Col Ashish Kumar.

Anushka Srivastava, senior analyst with a think tank,  feels pay disparity has various facets. “Sure ours is an equal pay organisation. But when you consider that there is no woman above a certain level of seniority, it makes you think that the issue does not just stop at getting equal pays — it’s about opportunities and the fact that once you reach the glass ceiling, there’s no breaking it and going forward.”

“It’s not as if women don’t ask for a raise as often as men do, but they are less likely to get it and sometimes can even be penalised for asking!” says Manjula Chauhan, who works in an IT firm. “If we ask too forcefully, we’re perceived as being aggressive and if we don’t, then we’re turned down because we aren’t negotiating well enough! Either way, we’re not getting any more money!” she says.

Srivastava says that the low number of women heads of state across the world are a huge indicator. “You can literally count them on your fingers. Same goes for heads of corporations, banks, financial houses, IT firms, publications… The list doesn’t end.”

Still, some prominent women are speaking up! Actor Kangana Ranaut famously said: “My male counterparts are paid thrice the amount. No one can guarantee the success of a film. So, why such discrimination?” Swara Bhaskar, Sonam Kapoor, Kareena Kapur and Aditi Rao Hydari have been questioning the gender pay gap in Bollywood where all the plum roles go to males, yet when roles are written for women, the films are a hit at the box office. Queen, Tumhari Sullu, Lipstick Under My Burkha, Mary Kom, Neerja, etc. are the most recent examples.

Yet, in an interview with Glamour, Priyanka Chopra said:  “I was told that female actors are replaceable in films because they just stand behind a guy anyway. I’m still used to being paid — like most actresses around the world — a lot less than the boys….” Singer Neha Bhasin had a similar statement to make about the male-dominated music industry in Bollywood where female singers always get the tough break: “Our music industry is male-driven. There are fewer opportunities for female singers.”

Srivastava wants the government to bring in a law to bridge the disparity in pay and for the greater inclusion of women in the workforce. “But, how do you combat the patriarchal mindset that is the root cause of the disparity and is as old as the culture is?” she asks.

Dr. Anuradha Sharma has the answer: “Probably the patriarchal mindset is prevalent to some degree in most countries of the world. Women self-help groups, etc. may help but basically the answer is empowerment at a personal level and real intention at the government level.”