A gap between the pay of men and women for the same type of work is termed a gender gap. This is a type of inequality based on gender or it can be based on the colour, caste and religion of a woman. Sometimes it can also be based on the beauty of a woman if she is not looking then it may be considered to take her as a second option for a particular job or being paid less than others.
Causes
Working hours
One of the factors based upon choosing a job is flexible working hours. For a woman, working hours matter a lot because she has to do other household work too and safety is a major concern to work in the night hours. Some companies prefer to pay according to working hours, they pay more to those who work on night hours compared to those for morning hours as most people prefer morning hours to work and avoid night hours. Mostly women do not prefer to work at night hours.
Stereotypes
Stereotypes can be a major reason for the pay gap. For some works, men are given more preference than women as it is believed that men are more strong than women so they can do it better than women. This belief of prioritising men for some work can become an issue for less pay for women. Women are treated as less powerful and if they tried to work that is more probably done by men or men are more engaged in that work then it is a reason for less pay to women.
Pregnancy
When a woman is pregnant she needs more care than earlier, so needs more leave and due to frequent health issues she has to take more rest so it's not easy for her to work for continuous hours and sometimes due to any complication in the pregnancy, she has to leave that work in the middle so people prefer that men are best suited for the job and can work continuously and effectively for their company so they earn more profit.
Beauty
Based on colour and looks, discrimination happens to women. Beautiful and fair women are preferred more by companies rather than average or below-average looking and they are paid more than those who don't look good. Ugly or black women are also paid less than black men. Beauty is treated as an important aspect for women by some and on that basis, they are sometimes prioritised more.
Racial discrimination
If a woman is of lower caste then she would be treated differently and is judged on that basis. On that judgement, she has given less paid work and inflexible work hours. Sometimes she has to face many difficulties in getting a job and when she gets one, she may or may not adjust with her colleagues and collaborate with them because of their treatment towards her and that results in a pay gap and some cases she can not even take a stand for herself lead to lose of confidence in herself.
Rise of Consequences
Lead to domestic violence
The pay gap between men and women can increase more dominance of male over female partner as it is about to think that they are the highest earner of the family so everyone has to follow his instructions which leads to conflicts in the family and results in suffering for women, relationship between them takes an abusive turn which even leads to break the relationship.
Loss of confidence
If there is a pay gap between two people for doing the same kind of work then it may result in a loss of confidence in oneself and one may think of herself as inferior or not capable of being good enough to achieve a high position or status as that of another person. She gets a feeling of insecurity or incapability of not being paid equally to another person for doing the same work at the same time.
Promotion to inequality
The difference in the pay scale of men and women can lead to the promotion of inequality status among people and give a message that whatever the condition is men and women cannot be equal or women cannot attain the status of respect and equality as given to men because they are paid less than men and hence considered inferior and pushed down to increase her involvement towards household work.
Lack of motivation or appreciation
Women have boundaries by spouse, family, and society. Irrespective of this, they are trying so hard to push themselves to higher levels and achieve their goals, making their life better and better with time It does not feel good when their work is not appreciated by someone or they are not motivated to pursue that work further.
Workload
If the woman of the house earns less than the man of the house then they are not treated with that importance and are ordered to engage in other works too by saying that you are not earning that much amount that you order us and we will serve you. A lot of work pressure has been put on the women besides her official work. She has to manage both the house and the workplace together. If she is not able to perform any activity well then she is termed as lazy or irresponsible, but sometimes even after the completion of the work, she has to listen to others' abusive talks or random judgment upon herself.
Conclusion
The gender pay gap can be a significant issue, it can give rise to conflicts and misunderstandings between men and women especially husband and wife, if not handled carefully then it will result in serious consequences. People prefer a high-earning job for men rather than women. If a woman is earning more than men then they see this as disrespect or insult to themselves how can a woman earn more than us?
This kind of mentality can become an obstacle in the overall growth of the nation, so we need to emphasize more of skills, knowledge, and performance of a person rather than their caste, color, and gender.