Women workers in Karnataka are not demanding equal pay for the same work as men, fearing job loss. They say the inequality and wage discrimination is a long-standing practice.
Published Jan 06, 2025 | 12:00 PM ⚊ Updated Jan 08, 2025 | 12:46 PM
Women continues to face wage discrimination in farming sector. (South First)
This report is the second in a series analysing gender-based wage gaps in South Indian states. The Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation recently released a report examining the roles of men and women across various sectors. The findings highlight a significant disparity in earnings, with women in India earning considerably less than their male counterparts. Read the first part here.
Indian Equal Remuneration Act, 1976, is not even a scarecrow in Karnataka’s farmlands where a gender-based wage gap between men and women exists even 25 years into the new millennium.
South First can confirm that though the Act mandates equal pay for both genders engaged in the same or similar work, women farmworkers in Karnataka are paid less than men.
Both men and women are engaged in sowing, weeding, harvesting, and other farm-related activities daily but the women take home less money than their male counterparts.
The Malanad region presents a progressive picture with a diminishing gender-based pay gap. However, the disparity is more pronounced in North, Central, and South Karnataka.
The wage difference between male and female labourers in most regions ranges from ₹150 to ₹200. This inequality is not a recent issue but has persisted for decades with little to no effort made to address or question it—even by the labourers.
The garment industry ensures equal wages for both men and women at the production level. However, the wage disparity is seen at the levels of supervisors and managers.
Incidentally, the vexed issue of disparity in wages is not confined to Karnataka alone.
According to the World Inequality Report-2022 estimates, men earned 82 percent of the labour income in India, whereas women got 18 percent.
President of Raitha Sangha’s women’s wing Nalini Gowda said the organisation raised the disparity issue multiple times but nothing happened largely because of societal norms and a lack of effective legal framework.
She said the gender-based wage gap persists across various regions, including Bagalkot and Vijayapura.
“Wage disparity between male and female labourers has been a longstanding issue in the Kolar region. Despite performing the same roles, women are paid ₹100 to ₹150 less than men,” she told South First.
Gowda claimed women work harder in Kolar. A few farm owners pay equal wages but in most cases, women are paid less.
“Even women workers don’t voice concerns over the inequality. This is mainly because many fear losing their jobs or being unable to secure work in the future. Women typically demand higher wages – an increase of ₹50 to ₹100 – only during festivals or emergencies, showing little concern for the broader issue of wage disparity,” Gowda claimed, adding that the issue has never been pursued seriously.
Akhanda Karnataka Raitha Sangha’s state secretary Aravind Kulkarni told South First that inequal wages are not new. “This practice is being followed for several decades.”
“Female labourers do more work than men. They achieve maximum work with minimal breaks, whereas their male counterparts do less work and take several breaks. The wage is majorly based on gender, and in some cases, it depends on the role of the worker,” Kulkarni said.
He blamed — albeit with a rider — a lack of law as the root cause for the inequality. “Implementing such a rule is challenging, as labourers are hired individually, either through contractors or independently,” he added.
Kulkarni, however, said the disparity must be addressed. “Female workers must also speak up about the issue. If they remain silent, the wage gap will only widen instead of narrowing,” he added.
Contractors play a significant role in supplying daily wage labourers for major agricultural works. However, despite the obvious disparity in wages, the contractors remain tight-lipped, preferring to stay away from wage-related matters.
Amarappa Bhavi from Gadag has been working as a labour contractor for several years. He acknowledged the disparity in wages.
“I get separate payment for supplying workers. I mostly source women labourers from Gadag, Rona, Badami and Gajendragada talukas. Women are paid around ₹250 to ₹350 a day, whereas men are paid anywhere between ₹450 to ₹600,” Bhavi said.
He, however, justified the disparity. “Men are stronger than women in certain areas. Women are paid less because they do less work than men. For instance, if women clear weeds from five rows in a day, men clean up to 10 rows,” the contractor claimed.
Bhavi added that mechanisation has further diminished women’s role in the farm sector.
“With machines being used, women are employed only to clear weeds and at the time of harvesting. Even women labourers barely raise the issue of wage disparity. The pay difference is always around ₹100 to ₹150,” he said, adding that such a disparity could be seen in the construction sector as well.
Basavva Goudar has been working as a farmhand in the Gadag district for the past eight years. “When I started, I was paid ₹150 to ₹200 per day, while men got ₹100 more. Now, women are paid ₹300 to ₹350 per day, whereas men get around ₹500.”
Goudar admitted that she had never questioned the wage disparity because the practice has been followed for decades. “We earn slightly more during harvest and festival seasons. However, we get work only for five to six months a year,” she added.
Ranjith K, a coffee estate owner in the Chikkamagaluru district, said gender-based wage disparity has been on a steady decline in the Malanad region.
“This change can be attributed to several factors, including a decline in daily wage workers and an increase in contract labourers,” he said, adding that men and women undertaking the same work are being paid equally.
The planter said an increase in contract labourers has been narrowing the wage gap. “Under the daily wage labour system, there was a noticeable disparity in wages based on gender and role. However, with estate owners increasingly hiring workers on a contract basis, wages are pre-determined and standardised, ensuring equal pay for all,” Ranjith said.
In Karnataka’s garment sector, women comprise 80 percent of the workforce at the production level. However, men are dominant at higher levels.
While no gender-based wage disparity exists among workers in the production section concerns have been raised over pay inequality at the higher levels.
Supervisory and managerial positions, largely male-dominated, often exhibit stark wage discrepancies, even when women hold equivalent roles. There are about 800 garment factories, including small units, in Bengaluru city alone.
“Workers, both men and women, are paid as per the Karnataka Minimum Wages rule. There is no gender-based wage disparity– irrespective of their skill set — in the production section,” Garment Workers and Textile Union President Pratibha R told South First.
The Union’s Joint Secretary Jayaram K explained that “There are 82 scheduled employments, including garments, in Karnataka. For all scheduled employments, the government has fixed wages between ₹551 and ₹651 per day. However, for the garment sector, they have set the wage at only ₹480 per day. There is no discrimination in terms of wages for workers in the garment industry.”
He acknowledged that wage disparities exist only at higher-level posts in the garment sector. “Supervisor and manager-level roles are predominantly held by men. Even when women are appointed to these positions, they are paid less compared to men,” Jayaram added.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
