Thaindian News

New Delhi, Oct 12 (IANS) Women’s weekly wages in India are 71 percent of men’s in salaried work, a World Bank report said Wednesday.

The ‘Gender Equality and Development’ report found that inequalities in wages notwithstanding, the women clearly want to work.

“While wages have risen in aggregate for all over last 10 years, lower wages among women compared with men are probably discouraging women from working outside the home,” the report said.

According to report, women’s nominal weekly wages are, on average, 71 percent of men’s wages in regular salaries work and 56 percent in casual work. However, the report could not explain any specific reason behind the wage gap.

“Overall, Indian women today are doing better than their mothers’ generation, but disadvantages remain. Indian women today are healthier, more educated and visible both in public spaces and the urban labour market. But on some indicators, female disadvantages remain,” it said.

It also highlighted that spousal violence is associated with poor reproductive health in women.

“Spousal violence against women is pervasive and the report finds that it has strong association with women’s access to maternal health and the health of their children,” it said.

The women who experience spousal violence had 18 percent lower odds of receiving any ante-natal care, 13 percent lower odds of being given iron supplements and 15 percent lower odds of receiving tetanus shots prior to delivery, compared with women had not experienced any spousal violence, it added.

The report recommends that policymakers focus on the most stubborn gender gaps that rising incomes alone cannot solve. It is by fixing those shortcomings that the payoffs to development are likely to be greatest, and where policy changes will make the most difference.