Gender Wage Discrimination in India: Glass Ceiling or Sticky Floor?

Abstract

Traditional analysis of gender wage gaps has largely focused on average gaps between men and women, and mean wage decompositions such as the Blinder-Oaxaca (1973) decomposition method. To answer the question of whether there is a "glass ceiling" or a "sticky floor", i.e. whether wage gaps are higher at the upper or lower ends of the wage distribution, this paper examines the wage gaps across different quantiles of the wage distribution. These gender wage gaps are analysed for regular wage workers in India using the 66 th round of the National Sample Survey's Employment -Unemployment Schedule (2009)(2010). The paper finds evidence of a "sticky floor". In addition to estimating the standard OLS wage equations for men and women, quantile regressions are used to assess how different covariates such as education, union membership, and occupations, affect within and between group (gender) inequalities. Finally, the Machado-Mata-Melly (2006) decomposition method is used to decompose gender wage gaps at different quantiles to determine whether it is the differences in characteristics (levels of covariates) or the unexplained (discrimination) component that drives the sticky floor effect. The paper concludes with a discussion on the possible reasons for observing a sticky floor phenomenon in India.JEL Codes: J16, J31, J71, C21

Discrimination in the University in India

“…Even when women occupy similar positions and have similar educational levels, they earn just 80 per cent of what men do, though this is better than in most developing countries. A recent study (Khanna, 2012) also suggests that the wage differentials are greater for lower earners. She states, "To put it simply, women who are low wage earners face a greater gender gap as compared to women at the higher end of the wage distribution" (p.11).…”

“…However, the evidence of a 'sticky floor' amongst Indian professionals is not entirely related to India but is a global phenomenon. Khanna (2012) states, "women who have high levels of education and are at the top end of the distribution are perceived to have high levels of commitment and due to their past investments in education are thought to be stable employees (p.30). However, the issue is that women have to get there in the first instance.…”

Disadvantage and discrimination in self-employment: caste gaps in earnings in Indian small businesses

“…Sticky floors are broadly defined as declining earning gaps as one moves from lower to higher quantiles of the earnings distribution (e.g., Arulampalam et al 2007). 17 Unlike gender wage gaps in most developed countries that are characterized by 'glass Disadvantage and discrimination in self-employment 335 ceilings' (i.e., increasing wage gaps as one moves from lower to higher quantiles), several developing countries reveal a sticky floor, for instance India (Khanna 2013;Deshpande et al 2015), China (Chi and Li 2008), Bangladesh (Nordman et al 2015) and Vietnam (Pham and Reilly 2007). In fact, Carrillo et al (2014) find that gender wage gaps in poorer and more unequal countries exhibit sticky floors, whereas glass ceilings characterize richer and less unequal ones, using a sample of 12 Latin American countries.…”

Rethinking Mindscapes and Symbols of Patriarchy in the Workforce to Explain Gendered Privileges and Rewards

“…The inequality effects of the glass ceiling are more prevalent within higher-powered or higher-income occupations, with fewer women holding these types of occupations. The glass ceiling effect also indicates Women's limited opportunities for income raises and promotion or advancement to more prestigious positions or jobs (Arulampalam et al, 2007;Blau & Kahn, 2001;Khanna, 2012).…”