Indra Nooyi, former CEO and Chairman of PepsiCo, issued a statement in an interview with The New York Times in early November 2021 stating that she had never asked for a raise…, she felt worthy…, she was attracting a good amount of flak. What makes a woman herself say this about the gender pay gap? There may not be a complete answer, but there are a number of reasons why it is often quoted that this subject will be discussed.
From ancient times, the men were considered to be the breadwinners of the family and the women were to take care of household chores. Over the years, women have begun to compete with men in all fields, yet the concept of men making financial decisions has not changed. This is true in many homes and when it comes to work, women are not considered to be paid the same as men for doing the same work. Whether the “patriarchal system” is to blame for all of this or the persistent attitude of our society is a debatable question.
Speaking of India, where the country excels in many other areas including providing opportunities for new businesses, one of the things is still the Gender Pay gap. According to the Gender Pay Index by 2020, India has dropped to 112th place from 108 in 2018. And research has also shown that to close this gap in all areas, the country will easily take 100 years. A report found that 46% of working women in India believe there is a common perception that women will quit their jobs after childbirth, 60% of them said they faced different types of harassment in the workplace in one way or another and one third of them strongly suggested that women are rarely considered for senior management positions. The report also found that women in India earn 19% less than men… do. Another shocking fact.
Most of us use the gender pay gap and unequal pay as alternatives without even understanding the difference between the two. This should be the beginning - "awareness" - about the topic and the need to talk about it. Although the gender pay gap stems from differences in the number of men and women working in the area, unequal pay is the result of lower pay for women for the same work performed by their male counterparts. Every organization has its own list of priorities and a list of ups and downs, where income takes last place, unfortunately. Even today we find ourselves seeing many organizations where female employees are less popular as they feel that birth defects and postpartum leave are more common for female employees and that is why it is an additional burden on them. In addition, if a woman decides to ask for equal pay as men, considering her role itself becomes a question mark. This leaves small options for female employees. So, most of the time, they compromise for less. In addition, our patriarchal society still believes that women belong to the family. Although we talk a lot about the empowerment of women and the representation of women throughout the country, it is still in the paper and not in murder. Even now, our government needs to pass a 33% female billing bill in parliament, but why not have to pass the same male representation bill? When the boy gets a job, the parents proudly speak of their son's achievements. However, when it comes to a girl, both parents feel that finding a well-educated and well-paid groom is their daughter's greatest achievement. So, obviously, the problem does not start at any level of organization. The main reason needs to be changed. The way we raise our children (of both genders) needs to be changed. The idea of equality and equality should not just start at work, it should start in every home, where we teach our boys that a woman is no longer considered a show at home. They have equal rights to work and earn the same as men. Financial femininity will only happen when women decide to be a revolution themselves. They should first say “No” when it comes to compromise. Recent research has shown that although women outnumber men when it comes to sound investment decisions, none of them are aware of this fact, therefore, it is often the men who make the financial decisions at home. It shows that self-esteem, insecurity due to the ignorance of previous generations of women, and the expectation of women's "perfection" when it comes to household chores are the main motivating factors for women to compromise on many aspects of income. The real empowerment of women should be about fighting for real women’s rights based on their talents and femininity should be about financial feminism as parity is the most appropriate factor, which will equip women with real meaning and give them freedom to make decisions.
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