Date: 21/09/2022

Relevance: GS-2: Welfare Schemes for Vulnerable Sections of the population by the Centre and States and the Performance of these Schemes

Key Phrases: International Equal Pay Day 2022, Equal Pay For Work Of Equal Value, Equal Pay For Work Of Equal Value, Convention On The Elimination Of All Forms Of Discrimination Against Women, The Equal Pay International Coalition

Why in News?

• The third International Equal Pay Day 2022 was celebrated on September 18.
• It is time to pause and reflect on the extent of progress made towards closing the gender pay gap and reaffirming our collective commitment to the effective and accelerated realization of the principle of equal pay for work of equal value.
• This becomes all the more important in the present context given the disproportionate effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on women workers in terms of job and income losses.

Impact of the pandemic on women:

• The impact has been uneven, with women being among the worst affected in terms of their income security which is partly due to their representation in sectors hard hit by COVID-19, combined with the gendered division of family responsibilities.
• Many women reverted to full-time care of children and the elderly during the pandemic, foregoing their livelihoods to do so.

What is the impact of the pandemic on the gender pay gap?

• As per the International Labour Organization’s “Global Wage Report 2020–21”, massive downward pressure has been inflicted on wages disproportionately affecting women’s total wages compared to men and thus, widening the pre-existing gender pay gap.
• Indian women earned, on an average, 48% less compared to their male counterparts in 1993-94.
• Since then, the gap declined to 28% in 2018-19 as per the labour force survey data of the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO).
• However, the pandemic has reversed decades of progress as preliminary estimates from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2020-21 show an increase in the gap by 7% between 2018-19 and 2020-21.
• The data suggests that a faster decline in female wages during the pandemic contributed to this decline, compared to a faster growth in male wages, which requires urgent policy attention.

What are the reasons for the gender pay gap?

• While individual characteristics such as education, skills, or experience explain part of the gender pay gap, a large part of the gender pay gap can still be attributed purely to discrimination based on one’s gender or sex.
• Gender-based discriminatory practices include:
  • lower wages paid to women for work of equal value;
  • undervaluation of women’s work in highly feminised occupations and enterprises,
  • motherhood pay gap i.e., lower wages for mothers compared to non-mothers.

What are the steps taken at the international level to address gender inequality?

• The ILO has enshrined equal pay for work of equal value in its Constitution.
• The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) provides an international legal framework for realizing gender equality and addressing the intersecting forms of discrimination and vulnerabilities among women and girls.
• The Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC), was launched in 2017 as a multi-stakeholder initiative led by the ILO, UN Women, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that seeks to achieve equal pay for women and men everywhere.

What are the steps taken by India?

• India was one of the pioneering countries to enact the Minimum Wages Act in 1948 and followed by the adoption of the Equal Remuneration Act in 1976.
• In 2019, India carried out comprehensive reforms in both the legislation and enacted the Code on Wages.
• The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in 2005 benefited rural women workers and helped reduce the gender pay gap, both directly and indirectly.
  • Directly, by raising the pay levels of women workers who participated in the program
  • Indirectly, the benefits accrued to women involved in agricultural occupations through higher earnings, as MGNREGA contributed to the rapid rise in overall rural and agricultural wages in the country.
• In 2017, the Government amended the Maternity Benefit Act of 1961, which increased the ‘maternity leave with pay protection’ from 12 weeks to 26 weeks for all women working in establishments employing 10 or more workers.
• Apart from enabling legislation, efforts are being made through the Skill India Mission to equip women with market-relevant skills to bridge the learning-to-livelihood gap and the gender pay gap.

Conclusion:

• One of the targets of the UN Sustainable Development Goal 8 is “achieving full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value” by 2030.
• While the gender pay gap is slowly narrowing, at the current rate of progress it will take more than 70 years to close it completely.
• Accelerated and bold actions are needed to prevent a widening of the gender pay gap and closing of the existing gap.
• Equal pay for work of equal value is necessary to close the gender pay gap.
• Closing the gender pay gap is key to achieving social justice for working women, as well as economic growth for the nation as a whole.

Source: The Hindu

Mains Question:

Q. Closing the gender pay gap is key to achieving social justice for working women, as well as economic growth for the nation as a whole. Examine .(150 words).