JOIN USWomen still face disparity in wages, says survey
This inequality is not limited to the rural areas as urban employers also pay less wages to women than to their male counterparts. The disparity also extends to government-sponsored employment.
The quinquennial survey conducted by the NSSO during 2009-10, which has been released this week, reveals that in villages, average wage or salary earnings per day received by male regular wage or salaried employees is Rs 249 and for female, it is Rs 156, indicating the female-male wage ratio as 0.63.
Though disparity does exist in the urban areas, the situation is slightly better than the villages. In urban areas, male wage rate was found to be Rs 377 against the female wage rate of Rs 309, indicating a female-male wage ratio of 0.82. When it comes to wages, casual workers of both sexes get worse of it. In addition to difference in wages due to rural-urban divide, there exists gender discrimination in ascertaining these wages.
NSSO data shows that daily wage rates for casual labour in works other than public works in rural areas is Rs 93 and in urban areas, it is Rs 122. In rural areas, average wage or salary earnings per day received by male casual labours engaged in works other than public works is Rs 102 and for females, it is only Rs 69.
In the urban areas, the wage rates for casual labours in work other than public works is Rs 132 for males and Rs 77 for females. Though in a limited manner, there is gender discrimination in government-sponsored employment, including the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Gurantee Act (MGNREG) projects.
In rural areas, per day wage rates for casual labour in public work other than MGNREG public schemes has been found to be Rs 98 for males and Rs 86 for females. For casual labour in MGNREG public work, wage rate in rural areas is Rs 91 for males and Rs 87 for females.