Gender Pay Disparity Increasing Over The Years
‘Diversity & Inclusion’ is one of the chief agendas at most progressive workplaces but there’s a lot that needs to be done to walk the talk.
A recent survey by TimesJobs reveals that the much talked about pay disparity still exists. In fact, the gap has only increased in recent years. Most respondents (60%) said that the difference in pay has increased, and about 60 percent respondents also said that women go to job interviews with a preconceived belief that they will get paid less than their male counterparts.
Men believe women are paid at par
A majority (65%) of male professionals claimed that women employees are paid at par with their male peers. Only 35 percent of male employees said that women were paid less.
Moreover, 76 percent of professionals affirmed that the productivity of women is still questionable at workplaces across sectors, whereas 24 percent of professionals disagreed to the aforementioned statements.
Ramathreya Krishnamurthi, Business Head, TimesJobs and TechGig said, “60 percent of employees surveyed in this TimesJobs study has said that pay gap has increased over the years, and this is an alarming situation. Organizations have to take tangible action to address this issue. Paying employees fairly has a direct bearing on the productivity of employees and impacts business revenues as well. There are many progressive companies today who are working hard to achieve this. That is the only mantra to win the war of talent in the new-age.”
Pay gap is more between people of opposite gender versus people of the same gender?
The disparity in pay exists between people of the same gender too! About 22 percent of professionals said that unequal pay is common between people of the same gender, especially women. 65 percent of respondents said the pay gap is more prominent between opposite genders than otherwise.
The root cause of the widening pay gap
The majority (41%) of the respondents voted for ‘work experience’ as a primary factor contributing to unequal pay. Around 31 percent of respondents considered ‘gender’ as the primary reason for the pay gap across different sectors. The study also shows that pay disparity extends beyond salary as well to even allowances, with 29 percent of respondents subscribing to this view, followed by respondents who acknowledge that the pay disparity includes other perks as well.
Pay disparity highest in the Healthcare sector
The TimesJobs Gender Pay Gap survey analyzed the impact of the pay gap in each sector. Most respondents (32%) said that pay disparity is the highest at middle management. About 15 percent of respondents claimed that the pay gap impacts the least at the C-Suite level.
As per the report, the difference of pay between male and female is the highest in the Healthcare sector, followed by IT, BFSI and Automobiles sectors respectively. The Gender Pay Gap survey also went into analyzing the functional areas where the pay gap was the highest, and most respondents named Engineers, followed by Journalists, Finance officers and Doctors/Nurses in this list.
