Dynamics of gender pay gap and its implications for industrial relations: A comparative study of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka

Abstract

The global Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) for female dropped from 52.4% in 1995 to 49.6% in 2015, whereas for men the global LFPRs are 79.9% and 76.1%respectively, with a gap of almost 27%. But for the South Asian and East Asian countries the gap has only increased over the years, which was 0.6% in 1995 and was at 25.5% in 2015. For this study, we have considered three South Asian countries, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka where the difference in labour force participation rates of men and women for 2017 are 51.63%, 57.77% and 39.07% respectively (ILOSTAT, 2017).

• Most GPGs studies are limited to time, area of coverage, inter-industry comparison, etc. and hence fail to provide a wholistic picture
• Most of the studies conducted are based on sample survey data conducted by state agencies which may be made public after a time lag :
• India: NSSO & Indian Human Development Surveys and Occupation Surveys
• Pakistan: Labour Force Surveys & Pakistan Integrated Household Surveys
• Sri Lanka: Integrated Surveys & Sri Lankan Quarterly Labour Force Surveys
• Cross-country comparisons of gender wage gap for this region are rare