India's Gender Pay Gap: Women Earn 70 Paise for Every Rupee Men Make on International Women's Day

• On International Women's Day 2026, India faces a significant gender pay gap where women earn only 70 paise for every rupee earned by men, reflecting a 29.9% disparity.
• The gap is fueled by underrepresentation in leadership, biased hiring, lower performance ratings, and women's disproportionate unpaid labor.
• Despite legal provisions like the Equal Remuneration Act of 1976, enforcement is challenging, especially in the informal sector where over 90% of working women are employed.
• Social expectations, lack of pay transparency, and fewer women in decision-making roles further perpetuate the disparity.
• Closing this gap could boost India's GDP by $770 billion by 2030, as per McKinsey Global Institute, with companies slowly implementing pay audits and equal opportunity policies.