{"id":349164,"date":"2025-11-03T17:42:55","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T12:12:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?page_id=349164"},"modified":"2025-11-03T17:42:55","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T12:12:55","slug":"answered-examine-the-socio-economic-factors-perpetuating-gender-wage-disparity-in-indias-informal-labour-market-critically-analyze-how-discrimination-affects-womens-access-to-wage","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/answered-examine-the-socio-economic-factors-perpetuating-gender-wage-disparity-in-indias-informal-labour-market-critically-analyze-how-discrimination-affects-womens-access-to-wage\/","title":{"rendered":"[Answered] Examine the socio-economic factors perpetuating gender wage disparity in India\u2019s informal labour market. Critically analyze how discrimination affects women\u2019s access to wage employment."},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/strong><\/h2>\n

India\u2019s informal sector employs over 90%<\/strong> of its workforce (NSSO), yet women earn 30\u201340% less than men (ILO, 2023).<\/strong> Persistent gender norms, occupational segregation, and wage discrimination deepen labour market inequality.<\/p>\n

Informal labour market: A gendered ecosystem<\/strong><\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. Despite rising female workforce participation (PLFS 2024), most women remain concentrated in low-productivity<\/strong> and unpaid family work<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
    1. Increase in rural women\u2019s participation is driven by agriculture-based self-employment and unpaid labour<\/strong>, often misclassified as work.<\/li>\n
    2. Women are predominantly engaged in disguised unemployment<\/strong> i.e. petty, residual and subsistence-level activities<\/strong>, reinforcing income precarity.<\/li>\n
    3. Existence of glass floor effect<\/strong>, women trapped at the bottom of wage ladder due to structural constraints.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Socio-economic factors perpetuating gender wage disparity<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
      Socio-economic Factor<\/strong><\/td>\nEffect on Women<\/strong><\/td>\nEvidence \/ Report<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Patriarchal norms & care burden<\/strong><\/td>\nRestricts mobility and job choice<\/td>\nWomen perform 312 minutes\/day<\/strong> unpaid care vs. men\u2019s 29 minutes<\/strong> (Time Use Survey 2019).<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Lower human capital formation<\/strong><\/td>\nLimited skills, lower bargaining power<\/td>\nFemale enrolment in skill-based ITI training < 20% (MSDE).<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Occupational segregation (horizontal segregation)<\/strong><\/td>\nWomen pushed into stereotypical sectors (domestic help, handicraft)<\/td>\nPLFS reveals women concentrated in 4\u20135 low-paying job categories.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Lack of financial & asset ownership<\/strong><\/td>\nLimits access to credit and entrepreneurship<\/td>\nOnly 13%<\/strong> women own land (Agricultural Census 2015\u201316).<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Social norms on \u201cprimary breadwinner\u201d<\/strong><\/td>\nWomen’s income treated as supplementary, lowering wage expectations<\/td>\nReflected in backward-bending labour supply curve<\/strong> in upper deciles..<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

      \u00a0<\/strong>Discrimination limiting women\u2019s access to wage employment<\/strong><\/h2>\n

      Despite low productivity in informal sector, gender discrimination persists<\/strong> in hiring, wages and job roles:<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. PLFS unit-level analysis shows women earn less than men across all categories<\/strong>: Self-employment<\/strong>, casual wage work and regular wage employment.<\/strong><\/li>\n
      2. Employers prefer men due to assumptions around: maternity-related disruptions, \u201clower physical productivity\u201d stereotype and lack of overtime flexibility.<\/li>\n
      3. Wage employment is less accessible to women<\/strong>, pushing them to self-employment<\/strong> where earnings are often meagre and unpaid family work remains invisible.<\/li>\n
      4. Absence of formal contracts, maternity benefits, and grievance redressal exacerbate exploitation.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Case Study: Beedi industry<\/strong><\/h2>\n