1976 is the year in which Indian Government decided finally that women and men will be paid the same amount of money for the same amount of work. This happened in USA in the 1963 and in UK in 1970. A recent study in UK has shown that women in 2010 were paid 17% less than men at similar level. In US the difference is 13 %. Women in UK have complained that they are perceived to be flippant about ambition and drive and are seen to be just waiting to get married and have kids. It is estimated that at mid management level in the financial sector, the wage difference in London would be around 40 to 60%. That is like working half the year for your employer for free if you are a woman, and anyway, it is a well known fact, that, to get the same amount of respect in the workplace, women need to work twice as hard.Talk of unfair.
Lets see where India stands. The Equal Remuneration Act seeks to address the issue of payment of unequal wages to men and women. It makes it compulsory for employers to pay women wages equal to those paid to men for performance of the same work. Section 4(1) states:
"No employer shall pay to any worker, employed by him in an establishment or employment, remuneration, whether payable in cash or in kind, at rates less favourable than those at which remuneration is paid by him to the workers of the opposite sex in such establishment or employment for performing the same work or work of a similar nature."
India has the distinction of being the lowest ranked in gender parity among the BRIC nations. This was revealed in the Gender Gap Report of 2010.
"According to the Annual Survey of Industries of 2004-05 the gender pay gap for regular workers in the formal or organized sector was 57%, which is much higher than among casual workers in the formal sector which was over 35-37%. And in agriculture, where an estimated 60% of all operations are handled exclusively by women, the hourly wage rates vary from 50 to 75% of male rates. In case you thought the gender gap is restricted to the lower levels of workers, a survey done by the World Economic Forum (WEF) last year showed that there is a yawning gender gap in the corporate sector too. The average annual income of a woman is $1,185, less than a third of a man's $3,698 in corporate India. The survey, based on responses of 60 of the 100 best employers in India, showed that women employees held only 10% of the senior management positions in two-thirds of the surveyed companies. The government is no better as an employer. Two of its much touted welfare schemes, Integrated Child Development Services ( ICDS) and National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) — rely on the underpaid work of lakhs of women who are paid "an honorarium" well below the minimum wage." (Times of India article)
Initiatives like www.paycheck.in, by IIM Ahmedabad, has a "salary survey" gives people like me a chance to check my salary vis a vis, industry, region etc. When I tried it, it was not working, but I hope it will work soon and I can check my status. Maybe initiatives like this will be a way to track salaries across industries and levels, as well as cities.
As an ambitious hard working woman who handles home, child and work, while the husband goes to office, comes back and is tortured by the hard choice of lounging on the sofa or bed, I feel terribly short changed. Did women really bite off more than they could chew when they decided they could handle it all, alone! While men had the added benefit of a second income and could go about buying the expensive camera or phone? And what about the men in your own workplace. Could you imagine taking maternity leave for 3 months or a sabbatical and then getting back to work and getting a fair deal out of it? All my girl-friends who have quit their job to have babies are afraid they will be out of the rat race when it comes to the next promotion or salary increase. So some of them are too afraid to quit and continue to work, leaving a 3 month old with a hired nanny, which means guilt, heart break and tears. Men dont have to deal with that. Its not even an option.
Here are some of the companies which have been voted to the top 50 for four consecutive years as "best for women"
- Accenture
- Barclays
- J P Morgan
- KPMG
- Microsoft
- PepsiCo
- PWC
- RBS
So, what if you are not working in a company which takes care of you anyway. According to me here are some pointers a woman can take if she is serious about not being treated unfairly.
- Find out what your market worth is. Job vacancies for similar positions online etc can help.
- What does your company pay: Many companies do not reveal their pay, but if yours do, go for it. Ask HR.
- Take a stand: OK, you are serious about your job and know you do it well. Talk to your line manager. Keep financials on your fingertips. If you are handing a Rs 2 crore project, talk about it and negotiate. Think like the boss. Why should he/she entertain your proposal? If you are bringing something unique to the table, you should be remunerated for it. Have a talk on your ambition and that you will not leave the job once you have a child. Talk about your seriousness and sincerity at the workplace.
- Emotion never takes you anywhere. Believe in yourself, your work and your proposal.
- Learn to negotiate: with numbers, not emotion. Never threaten to resign, you might be asked to do it. Be level headed and remember, your boss can only say "no".
- Go well prepared into a meeting: Think of what arguments your boss may have against your raise. Prepare answers to them.
- Always do it face to face: An email will only complicate matters and create misunderstandings.
If you, as a woman, feel that you are being short changed in your organization, and your voice is not heard, you might want to get support from your female colleagues facing the same situation or even resort to the law, if push comes to shove.
