INTRODUCTION

 PREJUDICES/DISCRIMINATION
A Prejudice can be defined as the unjustified and unreasoned hate and negative attitudes
that some people in the society hold against others belonging to a certain group of
people. Prejudice can include attitudes such as racism, sexism, homophobia, persecution
and religious. Discrimination denies opportunities and equal rights to a certain group of
people that are differentiated based on their gender, skin colour or religion.

SEVERAL FORMS OF PREJUDICES

•Racism: - Racism may be defined as the belief that certain races have distinctive cultural
features, which are determined by hereditary factors, making them superior and giving them
higher stature in the society than the other races. The term is likewise applied to political,
monetary, or legitimate foundations and frameworks that participate in or propagate
separation based on race or in any case support racial disparities in abundance and pay,
instruction, medical care, social equality, and different zones. Such institutional, underlying,
or fundamental prejudice turned into a specific focal point of insightful examination during the
1980s with the rise of basic race hypothesis, a branch of the basic lawful investigation’s
development

•Sexism: - Sexism, prejudices or separation dependent on sex, particularly against ladies

and young ladies. Even though its beginning is hazy, the term sexism rose out of the
"second-wave" women's liberation of the 1960s through the '80s and was doubtlessly
displayed on the social liberties development's term bigotry (prejudices or separation
dependent on race). Sexism can be a conviction that one sex is better than or more
significant than another sex. It forces limits on which men and young men can and ought to
do and what ladies and young ladies can and ought to do. The idea of sexism was initially
planned to raise cognizance about the abuse of young ladies and ladies, even though by the
mid-21st century it had at times been extended to incorporate the mistreatment of any sex,
including men and young men, intersexual individuals, and transgender individuals.

•Classism: - Classism is differential treatment dependent on a friendly class or saw social

class. Inequity is the methodical abuse of subjected class gatherings to advantage and fortify
the prevailing class gatherings. It's the precise task of attributes of worth and capacity
dependent on the friendly class.

•Homophobia: - Homophobia incorporates a scope of adverse perspectives and emotions

toward homosexuality or individuals who are recognized or seen as being lesbian, gay,
sexually unbiased or transsexual (LGBT). It has been characterized as disdain, bias,
revulsion, contempt or hostility, might be founded on unreasonable dread and obliviousness,
and is regularly identified with strict convictions. Homophobia is detectable in basic and
threatening conduct, for example, segregation and brutality based on sexual directions that
are non-hetero. Perceived kinds of homophobia incorporate systematized homophobia, for
example, strict homophobia and state-supported homophobia, and disguised homophobia,
experienced by individuals who have same-sex attractions, paying little heed to how they
recognize.

•Religious Discrimination: - Religious Discrimination is treating an individual or gathering

contrastingly given the specific convictions which they hold about a religion. This
incorporates examples when followers of various religions, divisions or non-religions are
dealt with inconsistent because of their specific convictions, either under the watchful eye of
the law or in institutional settings, like business or lodging. Strict separation is identified with
strict abuse, the most limited types of which would remember examples for which individuals
have been executed for convictions seen to be blasphemous. Laws that solitary conveys
light disciplines are portrayed as gentle types of strict abuse or as strict segregation.
Indeed, even in social orders where the opportunity of religion is a sacred right, disciples of
strict minorities at times voice worries about strict victimization of them. To the extent that
lawful arrangements are concerned, cases that are seen as strict segregation may be the
aftereffect of an impedance of the strict circle with different circles of the public that are
directed by law.

SEXISM AT WORKPLACE

The Prejudice/discrimination that we have chosen for our report is sexism. It is prejudice is
based on a person’s gender. It has been linked to stereotypes and gender roles and
includes the belief that males are intrinsically superior to other sexes and genders.
We have based our report on the gender pay gap in formal sector and gender bias.
Sexism has contributed to the pay gap in the formal sector of the workplace wherein Men
and Women get paid differently for the same job on the basis of their gender.
It can’t be denied that as a group they do equal amount of work as men, if not more, but the
kind of work they do at the same time, the conditions under which they get to work and their
access to opportunities for advancement – differ a lot from that of men. Women are often
subjugated to marginalisation in access to employment opportunities and conditions of work.
In today’s world, where women work alongside men, the problem of equal and fair treatment
often arises. In fact, gender inequality related to workplace is one of the major issues that
has been raised and is often debated. Women constitute almost half of the population of
India (48%) (Census India, 2011) and thus half the potential labour force. But the Labour
Force Participation Rate of women in India is roughly around 20.7% for 2019. This shows
the loss that as a country faces on its output as a result of such discrimination. Though the
government has been introducing several laws to prohibit and forbid discrimination or
inequalities against women workers, there still exists a wide gender pay gap in India. In most
part of the Indian work places, the so-called “glass ceiling‟ is yet to be completely broken.
Whenever a woman decides to be a part of the labour force, she is subjugated to various
gender-biased hiring practices. Even after all this, if she somehow manages to get into the
labour market, she has to face discrimination that exists at almost each and every step of
her professional life.
  NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF GENDER PAY GAP IN INDIA

YEAR WISE OVERALL SALARY ANALYSIS

The data of the following table is collected through an online survey by PaycheckIndia. A
total of 21,552 people across India had responded between a time period if 7.5 years. It
included both males and females from various hierarchical positions in their respective
occupations. The following table displayed that on an average, females earned 44.80% less
than males during and before 2007. However, since 2008, there has been a constant drop in
the difference. But the gap is still present and at an alarming rate of 24.81% as of 2013.
The table gives an overall idea of the level of discrimination that women workers face.

Now, let us have a look at the pay gap persisting at various job positions, wherein there is a
wag gap between men and women working at the same level of occupational hierarchy.
The following table shows the wage gap of men and female working on same level. The gap
is present at all different levels showing the discrimination that they face at workplace. The
gap is highest at the highest level showing that women are not considered worth the position
and even if they want to work, they are offered comparatively less wages than men.
Even though this data is of 2007-2013, the conditions have not yet improved. A gender
wage gap of 19% still persists in India as of 2019. Also, India ranked 112th on the overall
Global Gender Gap released by the Economics Forum back in 2019.

 ORIGINS OF THIS PREJUDICE

In India, the actual reasons for this pay gap are a little more complex and can be linked to
multiple reasons ranging from the structural to the socioeconomic. Girl children are
sometimes not given basic education and are also made to drop out of school at an early
age. Even if they are educated, many women aren’t given permission to work by their
families. Working Women often need to take extended leaves for maternity and child care,
and even for the healthcare of other members of their family.
This discrimination in the labour market is also out of the taste and preference of the
employer. It basically originates from the idea that women are less capable of handling
things and therefore they require higher level of training and therefore hiring a woman as an
employee has a higher cost. So, they offer them low wages in order to compensate the
additional training cost.
Another major reason for the gender pay-gap and the gender bias is the requirements and
duties of parenthood. Women often tend to take up part-time jobs or to take up extended
maternity leave. Those women, who either resume working later or take up full-time jobs, are
often offered lower wages than their male counterparts.

 HOW DOES THIS AFFECT THE SOCIETY?

After going through the gender-biased hiring practices and proving their capabilities on
numerous grounds, when a woman finally gets a job, she deserves equality in payment of
wages. But that is not the case, in reality, she does not get the remuneration that she
deserves. This leads to a negative impact on the morale and self- confidence, they would not
perform their job to the best of their capabilities as they would not be satisfied with their job
leading to a downfall in their corporate carrier.
Also, because this is something that everyone is aware of, so, society would demotivate
woman to participate in the labour force as they do not get the same level of carrier
opportunities or growth opportunities. Family would also pressurise female members of their
family to quit their job as they are not capable of earning as much as men of their family
does.
This would also have a negative impact on the overall productivity of the country, as the
labour force of the country would not be operating at its full capability.
 ACTIVITIES TO HELP REDUCE GENDER WAGE GAP

1. Claiming salary transparency

It is important to know the numbers in order to fight against the wage gap. Several
companies often tend to keep their employees’ salaries private in order to hide the gender
pay gap that exists in their organisation. Policies should be implemented and It should be
made a mandate for the companies to have transparency in their salary packages. This
would help to numerically understand the gender wage gap and hence enabling female
employees to build better negotiation strategies. It would make it possible for the employees
to demand fair and equal salaries, thus eliminating the gender wage gap.
2. Fair scheduling practices and remote working
Rigid and unpredictable working schedules make it very difficult for working parents,
especially mothers to manage their work and family duties simultaneously. This is the very
prime reason why they are offered less salary than their male counterparts as they fail to
manage it. Making the work schedule a little flexible and also adding remote working would
make it a lot easier for them to fulfil their family and corporate duties.
Workers should be equipped with “Right to request” for rescheduling their work hours and
making it more predictable for them to anticipate it and make their personal schedules
accordingly. Also, remote working or the culture of Work from home would also make things
much easier for the female workers.

CONCLUSION
Gender wage gap is an issue that has affected the overall labour force participation rate of
India. Women are not offered equal growth opportunities or equal pay. They are subjugated
to various gender-biased hiring practises and are discriminated on several grounds
throughout their professional carrier. Also, women are forced to give up their jobs for the
duties of parenthood.
Women account for almost half of the population and therefore it is important to provide
them with equal opportunities. The so called “glass ceiling” has to be completely broken and
equal and fair treatment has to be given to women. It is important that the thought process of
the society towards the working women should be altered.

REFERANCES

 Wage Indicator Data Report

 Economics times
 PublishingIndia.com
 Livemint.com