Ananya Deshpande, an Intern at the Centre for Labour Law Research and Advocacy, Delhi.
Introduction
Released in September 2022, Oxfam India’s latest ‘India Discrimination Report 2022’ quantifies the discrimination faced by minorities in India’s labour markets. It discusses the employment and wage based discrimination at urban and rural levels, faced by caste-based minorities (such as Scheduled Castes and Tribes), religion-based minorities (Muslims, in particular) and gender-based discrimination faced by women. The study details the discrimination faced by these groups in three sectors: regular/salaried employees, casual employees, and self-employed workers. The report also studies the impact this discrimination has on the ability of a person to receive agricultural credit, which heavily affects employment in rural areas. It also elaborates upon the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown on the labour market and its prevalent discrimination.1
The study uses a ‘decomposition’ form of methodology.[2] This methodology calculates the ‘endowments’ of a certain person. This includes their educational qualifications, their parental educational qualifications, and years of experience. If there is a gap in the outcomes of two sets of individuals because of the difference in the level of education or work experience, the level of discrimination can be described as low. However, if the level of outcome is drastically different with the endowments being similar, discrimination is said to exist.
However, this form of methodology is inherently biased. Levels of education as well as work experience are influenced heavily by the privilege and opportunities available to a person. An individual from a higher socio-economic background will by default have more opportunities in these avenues than an individual with fewer resources will have. Realising the same endowments poses differing levels of challenges for differing groups. Hence, stating that the level of discrimination is low when such factors differ is an erroneous claim to make.
These findings are based on Government of India data on employment and labour from 2004-05 to 2019-20. The Oxfam India report refers to unit level data from 61st round National Sample Survey (NSS) data on employment-unemployment (2004-05), the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) in 2018-19 and 2019-20 and All India Debt and Investment Survey (AIDIS) by the Union Government.
Caste-Based Discrimination
The mean income for people from Scheduled Castes (SCs) or Scheduled Tribes (STs) who are regularly employed in urban areas is INR 15,312 as opposed to INR 20,346 for people who fall under the General Category. According to the report, this indicates that the general category earns 33% more than SCs or STs. For those who are not SCs or STs, the average self-employment income is INR 15878, and for those who are, it is INR 10533.
According to the report, discrimination in casual employment is on the rise in rural SC and ST communities. According to the data, discrimination accounted for 79 percent of the income disparity between urban SC and ST casual wage work in 2019–20.
Non-SC/ST self-employed workers make one-third more money than their SC or ST counterparts. Despite the fact that many agricultural labourers come from SC or ST communities, caste remains a significant barrier to accessing credit for agriculture. According to the report, Forward Castes (FCs) receive more than twice as much credit as STs and SCs do.
Religion-Based Discrimination
In comparison to non-Muslims, Muslims still encounter a variety of obstacles when trying to obtain salaried employment or self-employment income. Muslims experienced a 17 percent greater increase in unemployment in rural areas during the first quarter of the COVID-19 pandemic than non-Muslims, resulting in a rural Muslim unemployment rate of 31.4%. In 2019–20, 15.6% of urban Muslims who were 15 years of age or older worked regular salaried jobs, compared to 23.36% of non–Muslims.
68.3 percent of the decrease in employment for urban Muslims in 2019–20 is attributed to discrimination. According to the report, 59.3 percent of Muslims experienced discrimination in 2004–2005, an increase of 9.0 percent over the previous 16 years.
In urban areas, non-Muslims with regular salaries make INR 20,346 on average, which is 1.5 times more than INR 13672 earned by Muslims. According to the report, this indicates that non-Muslims make 49% more money than Muslims do in regular employment. Despite the overrepresentation of Muslims in urban self-employment, self-employed non-Muslims earn INR 15878 on average while self-employed Muslims earn INR 11,421. In terms of selfemployment, this indicates that non-Muslims make a third more money than Muslims.
Gender-Based Discrimination
The Oxfam report’s findings show that discrimination is a major contributor to the low women’s labour force participation rate (LFPR) in the nation. According to the Union Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI), only 25.1% of urban and rural women in India had LFPR in 2020–21. According to the most recent estimates from the World Bank, this is significantly less than Brazil, Russia, China, and South Africa. In South Africa, the LFPR for women will be 46% in 2021.
The LFPR for women in India has sharply dropped from 42.7 percent in 2004–05 to a meagre 25.1 percent in 2021, indicating that women are leaving the workforce despite the country’s rapid economic growth during that time. In 2019–20, 60% of all males with a higher education hold regular salaried jobs, while 19% of all females with the same age range work regularly and on their own.
Men and women earn significantly different amounts in urban areas when working for themselves or for a company. In urban areas, men self-employed earn an average of INR 15,996 while women only make INR 6,626. The average salary for men is almost 2.5 times that of women. According to the World Bank, the current Labour Force Participation Rate for Indian women above the age of 15 is 19%.3 This is in contrast to the 70% LFP Rate for Indian men above the age of 15.4 For women in India, the LFP Rate declined from 42.7% in 2004-05 to 25.1% in 2021.5 This shows that there was a departure of women from the workforce despite rapid economic growth during the same period. One of the reasons this can be attributed to is the significant wage difference between male and female workers. The structural and institutional gender discrimination faced in India might be a deterrent to women who wish to work. The social frameworks of a traditional patriarchal society present in India puts varied constraints on working women in India as well.
Analysis of Similar Reports on Discrimination at Work and Wage Disparity
The India Wage Report published in 2018 by the International Labour Organisation (ILO)6, discusses the wages and wage gaps present in our current framework, through the lens of gender, social background and level of education. It also discusses wage policies that can be enforced as remedies. This report notes the wage disparity between men and women. However, it also notes that this disparity has been decreasing, as women’s wages are increasing at a faster rate than that of men due to programmes such as MNREGA. Unlike the Oxfam Report, this report does not merely take into account the endowment effect, which takes into account positive differences. It also takes into account an unexplained component called the discrimination effect. This explains the wage disparity between men and women due to discrimination faced by women, rather than tangible factors such as education levels and previous experience. The report also suggests mechanisms to help remedy this wage disparity, such as minimum wage policy strengthening, collective bargaining and collection of data on a regular basis and its analysis among others.
A report titled Employment and Inequality Outcomes in India published by OECD7 also lays out mechanisms and frameworks to address concerns of inequality in the labour market. It analyses wage gaps across gender, religion and caste. Its findings are comparable to that of the Oxfam Report. This report also discusses the importance of providing social security to the labour market, especially in the informal or unorganised sector, which accounts for about 440 million individuals. The report states that the benefits enjoyed by the organised labour force under labour codes must be extended to include the unorganised sector as well. It suggests the idea of a minimum core social security plan that can include modest or small amounts of benefits but must be made mandatory to be provided to all. It underlines the importance of including the informal sector in dialogues on labour safety and wages.
Critical Analysis of the Report in the Aftermath of COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has destroyed the lives and livelihoods of marginalised communities, according to Oxfam’s “India Discrimination Report 2022,” which calls for immediate relief measures for a fair and inclusive pandemic recovery. Due to the nationwide lockdown that completely shut down urban businesses, the pandemic has had a severe overall impact there. Within a three-month period, the percentage of unemployed people increased from 15% to 50%. The modest rise in rural areas, from 10.5% to 22.2%, was more noticeable. The SC/ST and Muslims, however, experienced a greater increase than the general population. In the first quarter of the pandemic, women’s unemployment rates significantly increased, mirroring those of men in urban areas, but werelower than those of men in rural areas.
The report suggests measures such as the implementation of right to equal wages for women, incentivisation of workforce participation, implementation of living wages as opposed to minimum wage, taking significant action to address endowment deficits particularly for Muslims (in their role as a religious minority), and ensuring that welfare targeting is precise and focused while maintaining caste-based representativeness and affirmative action for ST/SC. Possible policy decisions such as a blind hiring process, wage brackets for the same role, and a code providing for reliefs and protective mechanisms for individuals to take recourse in case of discrimination in the workplace.
The Oxfam India Discrimination Report can be used as a vital tool in reshaping policy. Biases and discrimination in India exist in an institutionalised form, rather than limited to selected groups or individuals. Hence, in order to bring about constructive changes that can positively impact marginalised communities and groups, it is essential that widespread policy decisions be made to remedy these situations.
Endnotes
Kundu, A., Khan, K., K, V., Madheswaran, S., V, K., & K N, A. (n.d.). India Discrimination Report: Women in India Earn Less and get fewer jobs. Oxfam India. Retrieved February 15, 2023, from https://www.oxfamindia.org/press-release/india-discrimination-report-women-india-earn-less-and-get-fewerjobs2
V P, A. (2022, September 15). India Discrimination Report: Women in India Earn Less and get fewer jobs.Oxfam India. Retrieved February 15, 2023, from https://www.oxfamindia.org/press-release/indiadiscrimination-report-women-india-earn-less-and-get-fewer-jobs
Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15+) (modeled ILO estimate) – India. Data. (2022, December 6). Retrieved February 15, 2023, from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.TLF.CACT.FE.ZS?locations=IN
Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) (modeled ILO estimate) – India. Data. (2022, December 6). Retrieved February 15, 2023, from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.TLF.CACT.MA.ZS?locations=IN5
Roy, E. (2022, September 15). Tale of women workers: Rapid exit from workforce, sliding earnings. The Indian Express. Retrieved February 15, 2023, from https://indianexpress.com/article/india/oxfam-report-ondiscrimination-tale-of-women-workers-rapid-exit-from-workforce-sliding-earnings-8151794/.
India Wage Report: Wage policies for Decent work and inclusive growth. International Labour Organization. (2018, August 20). Retrieved February 15, 2023, from https://www.ilo.org/newdelhi/whatwedo/publications/WCMS_638305/lang–en/index.html
Kundu, A., & Mohanan, P. C. (2008). Employment and Inequality Outcomes in India. OECD. Retrieved February 15, 2023, from https://www.oecd.org/employment/emp/42546020.pdf
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