GENDER DISCRIMINATION IN INDIA

BY:-NIKUNJ AGRAWAL

What Is Gender Discrimination?

Gender discrimination means discrimination based on a person's gender or sex, which more often affects girls and women. Because of gender discrimination, girls and women do not have the same opportunities as boys and men for education, meaningful careers, political influence, and economic advancement.

Gender Discrimination In Indian Society

In India, discriminatory attitude towards men and women have existed for generations and effect the lives of both genders. Although the constitution of India has granted men and women equal rights, gender disparity still remains. Gender discrimination violates human rights. These are mostly seen in family land sharing among sisters and brothers.

Few Points About Gender Discrimination In Indian Society:-

Birth:-The cultural construct of Indian society which reinforces gender bias against men and women, with varying degrees and variable contexts against the opposite sex, has led to the continuation of India’s strong preference for male children.

Childhood to adulthood and its education:-

Education is not wise attained by Indian women. Although literacy rates are increasing, female literacy rate lags behind the male literacy rate.

Literacy Rate Census of India 2011,Literacy for females stands at 65.46%, compared to 82.14% for males. An underlying factor for such low literacy rates are parents' perceptions that education for girls are a waste of resources as their daughters would eventually live with their husbands' families and they will not benefit directly from the education investment.

Gender Pay Gap In India:- .Gender pay gap in India refers to the difference in

earnings between women and men in the paid employment and labor market. For the year 2013, the gender pay gap in India was estimated to be 24.81%. A report by the World Economic Forum highlights that in the corporate sector in India, a woman is paid only one-third of what a man in the same position is paid.

Further, while analyzing the level of female participation in the economy, this report slots India as one of the bottom 10 countries on its list. Thus, in addition to unequal pay, there is also unequal representation, because while women constitute almost half the Indian population (about 48% of the total), their representation in the work force amounts to only about one-fourth of the total.

Causes For Gender Pay Gap:-

Equal pay for equal work. It sounds so reasonable, it’s hard to believe that in 2016, we’re still talking about the gender pay gap. And yet the fact remains that there is no country in the world where women earn the same as men.

One of the arguments used to explain – and sometimes justify – this stubborn gap is the idea of choice. Women simply choose to study less lucrative subjects, enter lower-paying professions and stay towards the bottom rungs of the career ladder. While these choices might give them shorter working hours and greater flexibility, it also negatively affects their earnings.

Occupational segregation:- The rate of female participation in the paid labor market

is generally low, and is primarily concentrated in rural areas in the agricultural sector.

In rural north India, it has been observed that labor is divided sharply on the basis of gender. Certain activities in agriculture have been assigned specifically to women, like drying and storing the grain, while other tasks like plowing and harvesting are only performed by men.

Women's participation is also higher in light industries and the unorganized sector, where the wages are usually lower. Since it is estimated that about 94% of working women participate in the unorganized labor sector, this further contributes to the existing pay gap.[

Education and training:- The literacy rate for women in India is far lower than the rate

for men, and it has been observed that many girls drop out of school and fail to fully complete their education.

Investment in education and training has also been strongly in favor of men as they are brought up with the expectation of being bread earners, and hence this investment is considered necessary for their success, while women are instead viewed as "future homemakers" for whom education may not be as essential.

In the skilled labor market, it has also been observed that male workers are more likely to undergo longer periods of skills training, as women are often responsible for childcare and domestic unpaid work and hence do not put in the same number of hours as men.[6]

By State:-

StateWomen's earnings as a percentage of men's earnings

Bihar 63%Chhattisgarh 48%Assam 48%Himachal Pradesh

45%Rajasthan and Kerala 44%

Uttarakhand on the other hand is the state with the lowest percentage of gender pay gap, with females earning only 9% less than men. Punjab and Uttar Pradesh are also states with a lower gender pay gap, following with 10% and 15%, respectively

Discrimination in Salary Graph:-

How to Overcome this Problem

When countries are able to raise the female labor participation rate, this stands to benefit the entire economy. Apart from potential GDP growth, equal employment opportunities for women could also result in increased growth and profitability in the private sector.It is also important to note that women in India perform 9.8 times the amount of labor in the unpaid sector either through household duties or care work. If this work was measured and valued, it was estimated by McKinsey that it would contribute 0.3 trillion dollars to India’s total economic output.

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