Blog Details

Author - Associate Shereen Abdin

In the current era, women have grown equal to men and gone are those days when women were limited within four walls. Women empowerment is increasing nowadays. Women are now contributing as the major workforce in India, and it is imperative to safeguard women at the workplace. Working women are increasing in the agriculture segment, being 90 million out of 409 million workforces, which constitutes 87% as workers and cultivators.

The main reason behind preferring males over female workers is costing, which culminates from paying female workers higher than males. The wage difference is a common problem encountered by women in this demanding market.

To overcome these differences in terms of gender, and to provide more protection to women, companies have enforced several laws to make them feel encouraged. Women need to be aware of these laws to protect them in their job.

The Minimum Wage Act

The government has imposed this act, which fixes a minimum amount of money to be paid to the worker. The wages have to be paid according to the type of job irrespective of the gender. This can vary from state to state and it is decided by the government of India.

In cities, on an average wage paid to females is only 75% of that given to males, while in rural areas females are paid 58% of what is paid to males. The primary goal of this Act is to create justice for both men and women and treat them equally.

Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013

So many laws have been enforced related to sexual harassment in India. In the workplace, if an employer continuously repeats this mistake, he will be subjected to severe suffering under this section. Other troubles caused to the woman are demanding sexual favours in return of promotion, or job confirmation, rejected physical touch comes under Sexual harassment in this 2013 Act. The Vishaka judgement act was launched in the same year to assure women's equality at work.

The Maternity Benefit Amendment Act, 2017

This right provides the freedom for any women to apply for maternity leave and benefits from the company. The Act helps in helping women return to the job after a certain period of maternity leave. 

The leave calendar includes 12 weeks paid leave as per Amendment Act of 1989. According to this Act, the employer must pay the whole salary to pregnant women until the extended time of 6 weeks post-delivery. Recent changes were made to the existing 1961 Act, and reformed it as the Maternity Benefits Act 2017 to benefit women. This helps to create a balanced work-life for women by actively fulfilling the duties of a mother too. Also, a woman must be provided with nursery breaks at work timings and no payment is allowed to be deducted in such cases.

Equal Remuneration Act, 1976

Remuneration refers to salary given for the service rendered, irrespective of the gender. This Act focusses on equal importance to both male, and female workers and prevents disparity on this ground. A committee has been formed with Gazette approval in October 2010 with the motive of empowering women and emphasises on providing challenging opportunities for women.

Conclusion

Women have seemingly become an indispensable part of the workforce due to the tremendous potential within them to excel in all fields. It is very encouraging to see women being skilled and engaged in diverse fields. But, it is disheartening to observe the lack of work participation of females in certain fields is due to the lack of suitable jobs on offer.