According to a recent study by Monster Salary Index (MSI), the overall gender pay gap in India was 20 percent in 2017. The study found that the gap was narrower in the early years of experience. 

While men with 0-2 years of experience earned 7.8 percent higher median wages than women, in the experience group of 6-10 years of experience, the pay gap was 15.3 percent. The pay gap becomes wider at senior level positions as the men with 11 and more years of tenure earned 25 percent higher median wages than women. 

Based on the educational background, men with a bachelor’s degree earned on average 16 percent higher median wages than women in years 2015, 2016 and 2017, while master’s degree holders experience even higher pay gap. Men with a four- or five-year degree or the equivalent of a master’s degree have on average earned 33.7 percent higher median wages than women.

The disappointing statistics on the gender pay gap point to the urgent need to address it. While India passed the Equal Remuneration Act way back in 1976, which prohibits discrimination in remuneration on grounds of sex. But in practice, the pay parity still exist. According to a  report by the World Economic Forum (WEF), Global Gender Gap Index, which surveyed 144 countries, ranked India at 108, far below the global average and behind neighbors Bangladesh and China.

With all this, it is obvious that the pay scale gaps have to be addressed across multiple fronts. To know more about gender pay parity in India, read our article Pay Disparity: A Gender issue ignored for too long!

To know how other companies are closing the wage gap between women and men, we recommend you to read the case studies of Adobe on its journey for achieving 100 percent pay parity.