Paper short abstract:

The paper problematizes the concept of (frustrated) freedom and argues that the acute occupational segregation in the form of intense feminization of certain jobs (allocative discrimination) is a critical reason of high gendered wage gap which reshapes educated females' agency and aspirations.

Paper long abstract:

Sen (1999) in his Capability Approach argued that paid employment is a critical functioning for emancipation of women as it enhances individual’s capabilities. However, this functioning mirrors to a large extent the gender inequality in domestic work and nonmarket care activities (Robeyns, 2003). Inequalities and discrimination stemming from patriarchal social norms are evident in the form of low labour force participation, insecure employment, and discriminatory wages. A recent report by World Economic Forum on Gender wage gap highlights that, globally females earn 77% of wages of their male counterparts; for India it is even lower at 73%. Further, India is observing a secular fall in the female labour force participation rate (FLPR) in recent years, despite robust economic growth, fall in fertility rates, and improvement in females’ educational levels. National Sample Survey data of India highlights that higher education doesn’t successfully translate into better labour market outcomes in terms of FLPR. These precarious trends have received much attention, some arguing that the plunge in FLPR is due to rise in females’ educational aspiration. However, the recent NSS data (2020-21) reports that in India 51.7% young women (15-29 years) are neither in education and training nor in any kind of employment; among males, this figure is much lower at 15.4%. Literature has highlighted that societal gendered norm along with occupational segregation play pivotal roles towards wage gaps, favouring males. One can predict that these outcomes have severe adverse impact on shaping women agency, aspiration and freedom.

With this understanding the present study attempts to unpack – first, the reasons behind falling FLPR and measure the Wage gaps (through wage decomposition method) across gender (male/female) to estimate the exact nature and extent of discrimination. It further attempts to understand whether higher education qualification mitigates the wage gap? Do women face “glass ceiling” or “sticky floor” in India? Second, the study problematizes the concept of (frustrated) freedom (Sen 1999, Victor et.al. 2013) and preference (Nussbaum 1999) in context of labour market discrimination against women. The paper argues that the acute occupational segregation in the form of intense feminization of certain jobs (allocative discrimination) is a critical reason of high wage gap. Also, the females in white collar jobs face ‘glass ceiling’ in India. The study further argues that the precarious labour market conditions are continuously reshaping the aspiration and agency of educated females’ in India, thereby affecting their future life choices and wellbeing.