EQUAL WORK: UNEQUAL PAY

Times of India [ 14 March, 2011 ] cites Global Gender Gap Report 2010 by World Economic Forum, to report as follows :

·      There is no country on earth where women get equal pay as men for equal work

·      India ranks # 128 on gender parity, with USA ranking at#6

·      In USA, women earn only 77 cents per dollar earned by men

·      In India, where an estimated 60 % of all agricultural operations are handled exclusively by women, their hourly wages range from 50 % to 70 % of male wage rates

·      In corporate India, the average annual income of a woman is $ 1,185, as against $ 3,698 for a man [ in 60 of the 100 best employers ]

·      To avoid paying “ Statutory Minimum Wages “, Government of India employs thousands of women on “ honorarium “in its own welfare schemes

So much for the Gender Equality in 21^st Century !

Hemen  Parekh