GENDER INEQUALITY

AND
EQUAL REMUNIRATION
ACT, 1976

MADE BY: FAISAL HASSAN

CLASS: B.A.LLB (SELF- FINANCE)
ROLL NUMBER: 13
YEAR: 2ND YEAR
SEMESTER: 4th SEMESTER

1
 INDEX

SERIAL NUMBER TOPIC PAGE NUMBER

1 ABSTRACT 4

2 INTRODUCTION ON 5
GENDER INEQUALITY

3 DEFINATION AND 5
CONCEPT OF GENDER
INEQUALITY
4 INDIA’S PROBLEM 5

5 CAUSES OF GENDER 6
INEQUALITY IN INDIA

6 LEGAL AND 8
CONSTITUTIONAL
SAFEGUARDS AGAINST
GENDER INEQUALITY

7 INTRODUCTION 10
TO DUTIES OF THE
EMPLOYER UNDER THE
EQUAL REMUNERATION
ACT, 1976

8 CONSTITUTIONAL 10
VALIDITY

9 THE SALIENT FEATURES 11

OF THE EQUAL
REMUNERATION ACT,
1976

2
10 THE DUTIES OF THE 12
EMPLOYER UNDER THE
ACT

11 CASES 13

12 CONCLUSION 15

13 REFERENCES 16

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 ABSTRACT
Gender inequalities are reflected in the daily realities of women‟s and girls‟ lives including: the
disproportionate number of women among those living in poverty. In India women are
worshiped as devi but still deprived of basic human rights. In spite of constituting half of the
population, they are considered as marginalized group and second-class citizen. The United
Nations ranks India as a middle-income country. Findings from the World Economic Forum
indicate that India is one of the worst countries in the world in terms of gender inequality. In
order to uplift her status and to give her an egalitarian atmosphere we must consider her a human
first and then we should provide all the rights given to human being. The present paper will use
secondary data from newspapers and various authentic organizations as base of analysis. The
paper will investigate various aspects of gender inequality prevail in India. The paper will also
suggest some remedies for the upliftment of status of women in society.

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 INTRODUCTION

Gender inequality in India refers to health, education, economic and political inequalities
between men and women in India Various international gender inequality indices rank India
differently on each of these factors, as well as on a composite basis, and these indices are
controversial. Gender inequalities, and its social causes, impact India's sex ratio, women's health
over their lifetimes, their educational attainment, and economic conditions. Gender inequality in
India is a multifaceted issue that concerns men and women alike. Some argue that some gender
equality measures, place men at a disadvantage. However, when India‟s population is examined
as a whole, women are at a disadvantage in several important ways.

DEFINITION AND CONCEPT OF GENDER INEQUALITY

„Gender‟ is a socio-cultural term referring socially defined roles and behaviors assigned to
„males‟ and „females‟ in a given society.

whereas, the term „sex‟ is a biological and physiological phenomenon which defines man and
woman. In its social, historical and cultural aspects, gender is a function of power relationship
between men and women where men are considered superior to women. Therefore, gender may
be understood as a man-made concept, while „sex‟ is natural or biological characteristics of
human beings.

Gender Inequality, in simple words, may be defined as discrimination against women based on
their sex. Women are traditionally considered by the society as weaker sex. She has been
accorded a subordinate position to men. She is exploited, degraded, violated and discriminate.

INDIA’S PROBLEM

India ranks 132 out of 187 countries on the gender inequality index – lower than Pakistan (123),
according to the United Nations Development Program‟s Human Development Report 2013.
The report said all countries in South Asia, with the exception of Afghanistan, were a better
place for women than India, with Sri Lanka (75) topping them all. Nepal ranked 102nd and
Bangladesh 111th. Gender inequality is especially tragic not only because it excludes women
from basic social opportunities, but also because it gravely imperils the life prospects of future
generations. Indian families often prefer boys to girls, and female feticide is tragically common.
Only 29% of Indian women above the age of 15 in 2011 were a part of the country‟s labor force,
compared to 80.7% men. In Parliament, only 10.9% of lawmakers are women, while in Pakistan
21.1% are women. In United States which ranks 42nd on the list, 57.5% women and 70.1% men

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are a part of the labor force. China fared even better, landing 35th. Only 26.6% women above 25
years received a secondary education in 2010, compared to 50.4% of men. Pakistan scored even
lower, with 18.3% of women having received secondary education compared to 43.1% of men.
In the U.S., 94.7% women have received a secondary education – a figure slightly higher than
for men (94.3%). In China, this figure was 54.8% for women and 70.4% for men. In India, 200
women died for every 100,000 childbirths, says the report. In China, the number was
considerably lower (37 deaths) and in the U.S. even lower than that (21.)

CAUSES OF GENDER INEQUALITY IN INDIA

PATRIARCHAL SOCIETY

The root cause of gender inequality in Indian society lies in its patriarchy system. According to
the famous sociologists Sylvia Walby, patriarchy is “a system of social structure and practices in
which men dominate, oppress and exploit women”. Women‟s exploitation is an age old cultural
phenomenon of Indian society. The system of patriarchy finds its validity and sanction in our
religious beliefs, whether it is Hindu, Muslim or any other religion.

For instance, as per ancient Hindu law giver Manu: “Women are supposed to be in the custody of
their father when they are children, they must be under the custody of their husband when
married and under the custody of her son in old age or as widows. In no circumstances she
should be allowed to assert herself independently”.

SON PREFERENCE

A key factor driving gender inequality is the preference for sons, as they are deemed more useful
than girls. Boys are given the exclusive rights to inherit the family name and properties and they
are viewed as additional status for their family. In a survey-based study of 1990s data, scholars
found that son are believed to have a higher economic utility. Another factor is that of religious
practices, which can only be performed by males for their parents' afterlife. All these factors
make sons more desirable. Moreover, the prospect of parents „losing‟ daughters to the
husband‟s family and expensive dowry of daughters further discourages parents from having
daughters. Additionally, sons are often the only person entitled to performing funeral rights for

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their parents. Thus, a combination of factors has shaped the imbalanced view of sexes in India.

International Research Journal of Management Sociology & Humanity (

While women express a strong preference for having at least one son, the evidence of
discrimination against girls after they are born is mixed. A study of 1990s survey data by
.
scholars Found less evidence of systematic discrimination in feeding practices between young
boys and girls, or gender based nutritional discrimination in India. In impoverished families,
these scholars found that daughters face discrimination in the medical treatment of illnesses and
in the administration of vaccinations against serious childhood diseases. These practices were a
cause of health and survival inequality for girls. Poverty and lack of education derives countless
women to work in low paying domestic service, organized prostitution or as migrant laborers.
Women are not only getting unequal pay for equal or more work but also they are being offered
only low skill jobs for which lower wages are paid. This has become a major form of inequality
on the basis of gender. Educating girl child is still seen as a bad investment because she is bound
to get married and leave her paternal home one day. Thus, without having good education
women are found lacking in present day‟s demanding job skills; whereas, each year‟s High
School and 10+2 standard results show that girls are always doing better than boys. This shows
that parents are not spending much after 10+2 standard on girl child and that‟s why they lack in
job market.

DOWRY

In India, dowry is the payment in cash or some kind of gifts given to bridegroom's family along
with the bride. The practice is widespread across geographic region, class and religions. The
dowry system in India contributes to gender inequalities by influencing the perception that girls
are a burden on families. Such beliefs limit the resources invested by parents in their girls and
limit her bargaining power within the family. The payment of a dowry has been prohibited under
The 1961 Dowry Prohibition Act in Indian civil law and subsequently by Sections 304B and
498a of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Several studies show that while attitudes of people are
changing about dowry, the institution has changed very little, and even continues to prevail.

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 LEGAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL SAFEGUARDS AGAINST GENDER
INEQUALITY

Article 15 of the Indian Constitution provides for prohibition of discrimination on grounds of sex
also apart from other grounds such as religion, race, caste or place of birth. Article 15(3)
authorizes the Sate to make any special provision for women and children. Moreover, the
Directive Principles of State Policy also provides various provisions which are for the benefit of
women and provides safeguards against discrimination. Various protective Legislations have
also been passed by the Parliament to eliminate exploitation of women and to give them equal
status in society. For instance, the Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987 was enacted to abolish and make
punishable the inhuman custom of Sati; the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 to eliminate the
practice of dowry; the Special Marriage Act, 1954 to give rightful status to married couples who
marry inter-caste or inter-religion; Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention
of Misuse) Bill (introduced in Parliament in 1991, passed in 1994 to stop female infanticide and
many more such Acts. Furthermore, the Parliament time to time brings out amendments to
existing laws in order to give protection to women according to the changing needs of the
society, for instance, Section 304-B was added to the Indian Penal Code, 1860 to make dowry-
death or bride-burning a specific offence punishable with maximum punishment of life
imprisonment. India is also signatory to the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women, or CEDAW. However, the government maintains some

A listing of specific reforms is presented below.

 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

(CEDAW) 

 Prenatal Diagnostic Testing Ban 

 The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and
Redressal) 
 Act, 2013 

 Hindu Succession Act, 1956 (Amended in 2005; Gives equal inheritance rights to

 daughters and sons - applies to Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs) 


Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act of 1937, (The inheritance rights
are 
 governed by Sharia and the share of females are less than males as mandated by
Quran) 
 State initiatives to reduce gender inequality 
 Different states and union
territories of India, in cooperation with the central government, have initiated a number
of region-specific programs targeted at women to help reduce gender inequality over the
1989-2013 period. Some of these programs include Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar
Yojana, Sampoorna Gramin Rozgar Yojana, Balika Samriddhi Yojana, National

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Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education (to encourage rural girls to
attend primary school daily), National Programme for Education of Girls at Elementary
Level, Sarva Shiksha Abyhiyan, Ladli Laxmi Yojana, Delhi Ladli Scheme and others.

 Remedies 


The list of legislations as well as types of discriminations or inequalities may go

on but the real change will only come when the mentality of men will change; when the
male species of human beings would start treating women as equal and not subordinate or
weaker to them. In fact not only men but women also need to change their mindset as
through cultural conditioning they have also become part of the same exploitative system
of patriarchy and are playing a supportive role in furthering men‟s agenda of dominating
women. 


 The movement for Women‟s empowerment where women can become

economically independent and self-reliant is needed, where they can fight their
own fears and go out in the world fearless. 

 Strategies for advancement of women should be higher literacy, more formal
education, and greater employment opportunity. In education it needs to be
reducing primary and secondary dropout of female child. 

 In job opportunities there shall be reservation or expenditure or provision of
services or special provisions. In governance all rights and all legal measures
should be available for women‟s protection and support. Human rights education
, know how to take control of their circumstance , help to achieve their own goals,
helping themselves, enhancing their quality of life and motivating for lobbying or
advocacy are also enablers for their advancement. Collaborators such as NGO,
INGOs, NPOs, SHGs, CBOs, policy makers, local leaders, information
disseminators, health care providers, teachers and family members should help in
the social advancement of women. 
 International Research Journal of
Management Sociology & Humanity 


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 DUTIES OF THE EMPLOYER UNDER THE EQUAL
REMUNERATION ACT, 1976

INTRODUCTION
In India, the Vedic period gave equal status to men and women, but this ideology had a tectonic
shift over a period. The men have overshadowed the position of women in the society. At the
time of Independence, the inequality was apparent, and the constitutional framers had to address
this as it chose a democratic republic as a form of governance. Systems have to be put in place
for the operation of the democratic forces to ensure equality. The constitutional provisions and
various legislations have been enacted which became a bedrock towards ensuring equal
opportunities to men and women. When equal opportunities are put in place, the next line of
action needed is equal remuneration for the same work done without reference to the gender. To
make this legislation a success, the onus is on the employer for effective implementation.
The employment of women has been increasing gradually over the years. Moreover, the works
which were considered gender specific underwent a sea of change. Women were usually seen as
less productive than their male counterparts. The general perspective of women was that they
weren’t as serious as men in their work as family and home are their main priority. Economic
dependency is the major cause for the women to have a weak bargaining power. This usually
makes the employer take them for granted, and the wage rate would be unequal.
In the modern times, the women are no longer restricted to minimal jobs or the traditional works.
They are employed at par with men and to protect their interests and ensure they get a fair
chance, statutory recognition is given through different legislations, enacted both at center and
state levels. The Workmen Compensation Act, Payment of Wages Act, Factories Act, Minimum
Wages Act, The Equal Remuneration Act, Maternity Benefits Act, ESI Act, etc. are some of the
legislations aimed at ensuring equal wages without gender bias.

CONSTITUTIONAL VALIDITY
Gender Justice is an important ingredient of every civilized society. It’s no longer the popular
mindset that the female is a weaker sex. To imbibe this principle in the society, various steps
were taken at the international level:
The International Labour Organization held in 1951 a Convention concerning Equal
Remuneration for Men and Women Workers for the Work of Equal Value.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, under Article 23 ensures that everyone without
any discrimination has the right to equal pay for equal work.
• The Convention on Elimination of all form of Discrimination, 1979 has it’s the main objective

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 to prevent discrimination especially in the case of women.
At the national level, certain legislations were enacted by the British India. But it’s the national
leaders, freedom fighters and intellectuals and the democratic movements sweeping the world
over brought about positive changes in the position of women and in achieving equality.
• The Preamble of the Constitution provides for Justice and Equality to all.
• Article 14 equality before law
• Article 15 guarantees a right against discrimination
• Article 15(3) recognizes ‘protective discrimination’ to bring women at par with men in all
possible respects.
• Article 16 provides right to equal opportunity regarding public employment irrespective of the
sex of the person.
• Article 39(a) states that the citizens, men, and women, equally, have the right to an adequate
means of livelihood.
• Article 39(d) “that there is equal pay for equal work for both men and women”.
• Article 42 requires the state to make provision for securing humane conditions of work and
maternity relief.
The Doctrine of ‘equal pay for equal work’ is not a fundamental right but a Constitutional right.
Equal remuneration for men and women is the right of an employee without any qualification.
The Act of Equal Remuneration, 1976 was enacted to comply with the provisions of Directive
Principle of State Policy (DPDP) under Article 39. The Act, being a beneficial legislation,
ensures adequate payment or remuneration to be made irrespective of the physical strength of
employee and removing the scope of social and economic injustice merely on the ground of sex,
thereby working to establish a just society in the country.

THE SALIENT FEATURES OF THE EQUAL REMUNERATION

ACT, 1976

• The Act is a Central Legislation and applies to the whole of India.

• The objective of the Act is to provide for protection against discrimination of women workers
on the ground of sex, about the payment of equal remuneration in the matter of
employment.
• Restricting the employer to create terms and conditions in a contract of service or work of
labor contrary to equal pay for equal work doctrine and the provisions of Equal
Remuneration Act.
• The Act doesn’t make a distinction like employment or the period of employment and applies
to all workers even if engaged only for a day or few days.
• No overriding effect is given to any agreement, settlement or contract to the provisions of the
Equal Remuneration Act.
• Any settlement or any agreement with the employee that is detrimental to the employee isn’t
allowed.
• The Ministry of Labour and The Central Advisory Committee are responsible for enforcing
this Act.
• Meaning of equality of work: The equality of work is not based solely on the designation or
the nature of work but also on factors like qualifications, responsibilities, reliabilities,
experience, confidentiality, functional need and requirements commensurate with the

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 position in the hierarchy are equally relevant.
• When the employer doesn’t comply with the provisions of the act, he will be liable to pay fine,
imprisonment, or both.

THE DUTIES OF THE EMPLOYER UNDER THE ACT

1 SECTION 4: THE DUTY OF THE EMPLOYER TO PAY EQUAL REMUNERATION

TO BOTH MEN AND WOMEN WORKERS FOR SAME WORK OR WORK OF
SIMILAR NATURE
No employer shall pay to any worker, employed by him in an establishment or employment,
remuneration, cash or in kind at rates less favorable than those at which he pays remuneration to
the workers of the opposite sex for performing the same work or work of a similar nature.
• The rate of remuneration of any worker will not be reduced to avoid complying with Section
4(1).
• In respect of any establishment, the rates of remuneration payable before the commencement
of the Act for men and women for same or similar nature work is different only on the
ground of sex, then the highest of the rates will be payable after the commencement of
the Act.

2 SECTION 5: NO DISCRIMINATION TO BE MADE WHILE RECRUITING MEN

AND WOMEN WORKERS
For any recruitment or any condition of service after recruitment like promotions, training or
transfer, for the same or similar nature work, the employer will not make any discrimination
against women except where the employment of women in such work is prohibited or restricted
by or under any law for the time being in force.
Proviso: the provisions of the Act will not affect the priority given or reservation for SC, STs,
ex-service men, retrenched employees.

3 SECTION 8: MAINTAINING A REGISTRAR

RULE 6 READ WITH SECTION 8 PROVIDES THAt: The employer has to maintain proper
registers and relevant documents of all the employees and workers as prescribed by law in Form
D. The Form needs to have:
• category of workers
• Description of work
• No, if men employed
• Number of women employed
• Rate of remuneration
• Components of remuneration.

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CASES
The Indian Courts have played a major role in upholding the doctrine and ensuring proper
enforcement of the social legislations for the benefit of the class of people the legislation was
enacted for.
1 A landmark case in the light of equal pay for equal work was the Judgment given by the
Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Randhir Singh v. Union of India. Here, the Court
adopted a sociological ideology and deviated from strict interpretation to liberal
interpretation for the employees. The court, in this case, relied on ‘‘socialist’ as envisage
in the Preamble to the Constitution in deciding the case, and it was held that the
principle of equal pay for equal work was deducible from article 14 and 16 of the
Constitution of India, may be properly applied to the cases of unequal scale of pay based
on classification, though those drawing a different scale of pay do identical work under
the same employer.” Here, the court observed that “equal pay for equal work” is
deducible from Articles 14 &16, understood in the light of the Preamble and Art. 39(d).

CLASS OR CATEGORY OF EMPLOYEE:

• M/s Mackinnon Mackenzie and Co. Ltd. v. Audrey D’Costa and other, 1987

In the given case, a woman employee was discriminated while payment of salary as the employer
contended that the lady was working as a Confidential Stenographer and is part of a different
class. The court rejected the plea of the employer that the woman was in a different class. It held,
‘If only women are working as Confidential Stenographers it is because the management wants
them there. Women are neither specially qualified to be Confidential Stenographers nor
disqualified on account of sex to do the work assigned to the male Stenographers. Even if there is
a practice in the establishment to appoint women as Confidential Stenographer such practice
cannot be relied on to deny them equal remuneration due to them under the Act.’ Therefore, the
Court applied the Equal Remuneration Act to grant equal salary to female stenographers.
• Inder Singh & Others v. Vyas Muni Mishra & Others 1987
 The court decided that when two
groups of persons are in the same or similar posts performing the same kind of work,
either in the same or in the different departments, equal pay will be paid to them by
removing unreasonable discrimination and treating the two groups that are similarly
situated, equally.

MEANING OF SAME WORK OR WORK OF SIMILAR NATURE:

Mackinnon Mackenzie & Co. Ltd. v. Audrey D’Costa & Another, 1987
The court observed while determining the term ‘same work or work of similar nature’ under
Section 2(h), the following are considered

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• the authority should take a broad view
• ascertain if any differences are of practical importance, the authority should take an equally
broad approach to the very concept of similar work implies differences in detail, but these
should not defeat a claim for equality on trivial grounds.
• It should look at the duties performed, not those theoretically possible. In making comparison,
the authority should look at the duties performed by men and women.

RELEVANCE OF CONDITIONS TO EMPLOYMENT:

Bhagwan Dass & Others v. State of Haryana & Others, 1987
 The Court held that when it’s
proved that the nature of duties and functions discharged and worked done similar, then the
mode of selection and period of appointment is irrelevant and immaterial for the applicability of
equal pay for equal work.

CONSTITUTIONAL RELEVANCE:
• Sita Devi & Others v. State of Haryana & Others, 1996
The learned Judge held that the “doctrine of equal pay for equal work is recognized as a facet of
the equality clause contained in Article 14 of the Constitution.”
• S. Nakara v. Union of India:
A Constitutional Bench affirmed the decision in the case of Randhir Singh, in the given case.
The Court held that “having regard to the constitutional mandate of equality and inhibition
against discrimination in Articles 14 and 16, in service jurisprudence, the doctrine of “equal pay
for equal work” has assumed the status of a fundamental right.”

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 CONCLUSION

The efforts of both women and men would be able to found solutions to the problem of gender
inequality and would take us all towards our cherished dream of a truly modern society in both
thought and action and political inequalities between men and women in India. Various
international gender inequality indices rank India differently on each of these factors, as well as
on a composite basis, and these indices are controversial. India needs to deactivate the gender
Inequality. The needs of the day are trends where girls are able not only to break out of the
culturally determined patterns of employment but also to offer advice about career possibilities
that look beyond the traditional list of jobs. It is surprising that in spite of so many laws, women
still continue to live under stress and strain. To ensure equality of status for our women we still
have miles to go.

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 REFERENCES
The Global Gender Gap Report 2013, World Economic Forum, Switzerland

Dijkstra & Hanmer (2000), Measuring socio-economic gender inequality: Toward an alternative
to the UNDP gender-related development index, Feminist Economics, 6(2), pp 41-75

Larsen, Mattias, Neelambar Hatti, and Pernille Gooch. "Intergenerational Interests, Uncertainty
and Discrimination." (2006).

Rangamuthia Mutharayappa, M. K. (1997). Son Preference and Its Effect on Fertility in India.
Mumbai: International Institute for Population Sciences.

Muthulakshmi, R. (1997). Female infanticide, its causes and solutions. New Delhi: Discovery
Publishing House.

"The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961". Retrieved 24 December 2006.

Srinivasan, Padma, and Gary R. Lee. "The dowry system in Northern India: Women's attitudes
and social change." Journal of Marriage and Family 66.5 (2004): 1108-1117.

"Report on the State of Women: India". Center for Asia-Pacific Women in Politics. Retrieved 31
March 2014.

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