End Unequal Pay

Despite the necessary constitutional and legal instruments, women continue to be exploited due to the entrenched patriarchal mindset. Women's inequality is not confined to any specific area but spans all social and economic sectors. Things have indeed changed over the years but women still complain about exploitation, sexual violence and mistreatment. One reason why they are denied a fair crack of the whip is that their labour is often underestimated. A misconception that women cannot work on a par with their male counterparts deeply persists in society, depriving them of equal income and respect. The women involved in the informal sector have endured this sort of injustice for decades despite the state’s policy of providing them equal wages and benefits. 

Most Nepali workers are involved in the informal sector, which has not come under the purview of laws and regulations. According to the data, the informal sector constitutes around 84 per cent of the entire workforce, while women form 90 per cent of informal workers, who fail to receive a fair amount of wage, or social and economic protections. Unlike the formal workers, the informal ones lack appointment letters or contract papers, which give the employers an upper hand in dealing with them. The condition of women workers is more vulnerable than that of male workers. They are subject to underpayment, non-payment, delayed payment and gender-based discrimination. 

Women working in the agriculture, industries and construction sectors have a long list of grudges but no state mechanisms are there to listen to and address them. Sometimes, a male worker gets twice the wage for the same work that a woman does. This discrimination stems from the mindset of contractors, who argue that women are unable to work as men do. The women workers from the marginalised community are always at the receiving end. A news report, carried by this daily the other day, sheds light on the gender-based wage discrimination faced by the women involved in the construction sector in Manahari Municipality-7 of the western Makawanpur. These women rely on daily wage labour to keep the hearth burning. 

They lament that they are paid far less than the male workers for the same task. Both male and female labourers are involved in mixing cement, breaking stones and carrying bricks. Men receive between Rs. 1,000 to 1,200 per day while the women get only Rs. 500 to 800. Moreover, they have to work in dangerous conditions, with no proper safety equipment such as gloves and helmets. Unskilled women workers have a double-whammy: in the first place, they do not find the works easily and even if they get work, they suffer wage discrimination. According to the Labour Act-2074 that came into force from July 17, 2025, the minimum monthly wage for most workers, excluding those in tea gardens, is set at Rs. 19,550. The daily wage is set at Rs. 754, with hourly wages for part-time work at Rs. 101. 

The concerned authorities claim that no wage disparity exists between male and female workers and urged those failing to get a fixed wage to lodge a complaint at the labour office. However, the reality is that those uneducated and poor women residing in the villages can hardly approach the relevant offices for legal remedy. The state mechanisms, local bodies and labour organisations should take this issue seriously and take the initiative to implement the existing laws so that women can get equal pay.