Market determined wages for similar work are significantly lower for women compared with those of men in both rural and urban India. What is worse is that the gap has widened in rural areas over the last decade though it has narrowed in the towns. These are survey findings just released by the National Statistical Office in the form of a report, Women and Men In India 2022.
During April-June 2022, the time of the latest survey, the female wage rate ranged across states from just over half to 93.7% of male wages in rural India and from just under half to 100.8% in cities.

A comparison of these wages with NSSO’s 68th round report (July 2011 – June 2012) shows that for most states, the gender divide in wages has increased in the rural areas. Urban areas on the other hand have witnessed a narrowing of this gap in the past decade.
Among large states, the gap is the highest for both rural and urban regions of Kerala. The average wage rate of rural males is Rs 842 a day, also the country’s highest. Female workers of the state’s rural areas are paid Rs 434 a day. While this too is the highest among large states, it is only 51.5% of men’s wages.