GENDER GAP EARNINGS

The Periodic Labour Force Surveys (PLFS) have been diligently tracking the gender earnings gap from April-June 2019 to 2023, offering a deeper perspective on this critical issue. The latest round of surveys has brought into focus the importance of considering weekly hours worked in addition to total earnings when discussing gender disparities. Women, on average, work fewer hours than men, influenced by societal pressures and individual choices, highlighting the intricate interplay between societal norms and personal decisions in shaping gender disparities in the workforce. Claudia Goldin's groundbreaking research on the factors driving inequalities between men and women in the United States finds resonance in the Indian context. Indian scholars have extensively studied the disparities in work participation and wages affecting working women.

2. Gender Earnings Gap Across Different Forms of Employment

• Earnings for all types of workers have been converted to weekly figures.
• Table 1 presents the ratio of weekly earnings for men and women at the all-India level, encompassing both rural and urban sectors, from the second quarter of 2019 to the same period in 2023.
• A ratio exceeding 1 signifies higher earnings for men relative to women. For example, a ratio of 1.24 indicates that men's earnings are 24% greater than women's.
• Men earn more than women in all forms of work, with the most significant gap observed in the self-employed sector.
• In 2023, male self-employed workers earned 2.8 times more than their female counterparts.
• Conversely, male regular wage workers earned 24% more than women, and male casual workers earned 48% more.
• The gender gap in earnings remains a persistent issue, but trends vary. The gap has widened for self-employed workers while narrowing for regular wage workers.
• Male regular wage workers earned 34% more than women from 2019 to 2022, with the gap decreasing to 24% in 2023.

3. Analyzing Average Weekly Work Hours

• The gender earnings gap does not provide a complete understanding of earnings per unit of work effort, as women typically work fewer hours than men across all forms of employment, as illustrated in Table 2.
• In 2023, the largest gap in work hours was observed among self-employed workers, with men working 50% more hours than women.
• Regular wage workers exhibited the smallest gap, with men working 19% more hours.
• Both men and women in regular-wage jobs had the longest work hours, at 51 and 43 hours per week, respectively.
• The ratio remained relatively stable for regular-wage workers but increased significantly for self-employed workers.
• The growing gender gap in hours worked, particularly among self-employed women, necessitates an explanation.
• Labor force participation rates (LFPRs) for rural women have risen, with a notable increase in the proportion of self-employed women.
• Simultaneously, the average hours worked per week for rural self-employed women decreased from 37.1 in 2019 to 30.1 in 2023, indicating that much of the increased employment for rural self-employed women has been part-time, in contrast to men's full-time work.
• Meanwhile, the ratio of hours worked for regular-wage workers remained relatively constant.

4. Analyzing the Gap in Hourly Earnings

• Evaluating earnings per hour, the gender gap significantly narrows for regular wage workers.
• In 2023, men in this sector earned 24% more than women over the week but worked 19% more hours.
• Consequently, the gap in hourly earnings reduced to only around 4%, down from 11% in 2019.
• On average, women in regular work earned less per week but approximately the same when considering earnings per hour.
• Inequality in hourly earnings is higher in other forms of work, though not as high as when considering total earnings.
• In 2023, male casual workers earned 23% more per hour than women, a reduction from 33% in 2019.
• The gap has slightly increased for self-employed workers, from 84% in 2019 to 87% in 2023.

5. Factors Influencing Work Hours

• Lower inequality in hourly earnings for regular-wage workers does not imply that women choose to work fewer hours.
• The availability of longer working hours may not always be a choice. Social norms that require women to attend to domestic and child-rearing duties may limit their options and push them toward jobs with shorter hours.
• It's crucial to understand not only the factors affecting pay differences but also those influencing total hours of work.
• Policymakers must work to eliminate barriers restricting women's working hours, ranging from workplace interventions like mandating creches and extended maternity leave to broader changes in societal norms regarding childcare and domestic responsibilities.