Gender Pay Gap in India: Progress and Challenges

The gender pay gap has been a persistent challenge in India’s labor market. While progress has been made over the last decade, data from 2025 shows that women still earn significantly less than men in similar roles. This blog explores the progress achieved, the obstacles that remain, and what professionals and organizations can do to bridge the gap.

Defining the Gender Pay Gap

The gender pay gap measures the difference between the average earnings of men and women across the workforce. In India, this is influenced not only by direct salary differences but also by factors such as labor force participation, career breaks, and underrepresentation in leadership roles.

The State of the Gender Pay Gap in 2025

According to labor market studies, women in India earn on average 18–20% less than men in comparable roles. While this is an improvement from the 25–30% gap a decade ago, the disparity remains significant. Key insights include:

• Women are underrepresented in senior management and leadership roles.
• The pay gap is smaller in entry-level positions but widens with experience.
• Industries like IT services and finance show narrower gaps, while manufacturing and logistics show wider disparities.
• Urban areas show progress, but rural employment markets remain heavily skewed.

Causes Behind the Gap

• Occupational Segregation – Women are concentrated in lower-paying roles and industries.
• Career Breaks – Maternity and caregiving responsibilities disproportionately impact women’s career continuity.
• Bias in Promotions – Subconscious biases limit women’s upward mobility, even when performance is comparable.
• Lack of Negotiation Leverage – Studies show women negotiate raises less frequently than men, often due to workplace culture.

Progress Made So Far

Despite challenges, India has made strides in bridging the gap:

• Introduction of maternity and paternity leave policies in large corporates.
• Diversity hiring mandates in tech and finance sectors.
• Women in leadership programs across consulting and product firms.
• Increased salary transparency through AI-driven platforms like NesaWorks.

Case Study: Narrowing the Gap in IT

Infosphere Tech, a mid-size IT firm in Pune, introduced an AI-driven pay benchmarking tool in 2023. Within two years, they reduced their internal gender pay gap from 22% to 12% by systematically aligning women’s salaries to peer benchmarks. Employees reported higher trust in management and improved retention rates.

Global Parallels

India’s challenges mirror global realities:

• US – Women earn ~82 cents for every dollar earned by men.
• Europe – Pay transparency directives mandate public reporting of gender pay gaps.
• Nordics – Progressive parental leave policies have led to narrower gaps (as low as 5–7%).

What Professionals Can Do

1. Use salary benchmarking tools to know your worth before negotiations.
2. Document contributions clearly in performance reviews.
3. Seek opportunities in industries with better diversity policies.
4. Leverage mentorship and networks to push for leadership roles.

The Role of Employers

Organizations must take proactive measures:

• Conduct regular pay audits to detect disparities.
• Adopt transparent promotion criteria to reduce bias.
• Offer return-to-work programs for women after career breaks.
• Encourage negotiation training and confidence-building for employees.

The NesaWorks Advantage

NesaWorks equips professionals with Salary Worthiness Reports that reveal peer benchmarks and percentile positions. By highlighting inequities and offering negotiation insights, we empower professionals — especially women — to advocate for pay that reflects their true worth.