Women are paid less than men
By Ankita Bhalani   |   Friday, 12 September 2008, 23:30 IST   |    3 Comments
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Bangalore: As part of reducing the gender gap in the workplace while most IT companies are taking up initiatives to evangelize encouraging the women to take up jobs, most Indian women feel that they are less paid than men. The working women in the U.S feel the same as they get a raw deal compared to men in career advancement, training and workplace flexibility, according to the survey by the country's top job website CareerBuilder.com A survey in America and other western countries have proved this wage difference. Studies in India have resulted in the same outcome. N. Padmini a CEO of a private company in Mysore says, "This disparity is existing in the industry for long period. I have worked very hard to come to this position and have gone through this discrimination." This disparity is well reflected in the IT sector too, with only 15-20 percent female employees in the software industry and the other industries also follow the suit. An International Labor Organisation (ILO) survey conducted among the IT professionals in the software industires in India has revealed the prevalence of gender inequality in its various forms. It has also show-cased how women are relegated to the less prestigious and low-paid jobs. The study also points out the lack of women professionals in the leadership level. Recently the MNCs had announced that they would be recruiting more women employees. It is also known that these companies have been cutting economic costs recently. Is this the reason they want to recruit more women employees? Some companies also claim that they are hiring more women to create gender equality in work place. P.S. Shylashree, a Senior Software Engineer, Chennai says, "It is true that women does not get paid as much as men even with the same qualifications and experience, but the amount of work remains same. Women should be recruited for right cause and not to take advantage." Women refrain from joining the workforce partly due to these reasons. Skill development of women is not uniform across all trades and they are also denied access to certain jobs. "Engendering Workplaces: Framework for a Gender Policy", a book put together by Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), an NGO working on issues of governance and gender issues, in collaboration with the Gender Community-UN Solution Exchange lists out recommendations that organisations should follow to retain women employees and bring out the best in them. The recommendations were flexible working hours for women, traveling arrangements, especially at night, and better facilities for pregnant women, lactating mothers and those with young children, ensure safety to their women employees, and work places should also have a committee to look into sexual harassment cases. According to Som Mittal, President, Nasscom, companies should realize the importance of women in their workforce. What is needed is a transformation in the nature of paid and unpaid work, as well as looking at the impact women can have on technology and technology on women. Women can bring in a different insight and dynamics to the work and have emerged as better professionals in any situations.