Gender Wage Gap in India: A Descriptive Study with Reference to Education Level and Rural–Urban Residence Using PLFS Data

This study presents analysis of gender wage differentials in India using data from Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2022-23. It shows comparison between the male and female laborers in case of the location of work i.e., rural-urban, earnings across employment categories with references to education on contextual basis. The analysis relies on published PLFS tables and applies percentage gap calculations and simple graphical comparisons.The findings reveal that there is a persistent gender wage gap across all segments of labour markets. The women are mostly engaged in self-employment and informal sectors, mainly in rural areas, leading to low-average earnings. The study also highlights that education alone fails to eliminate wage inequality and the market calls for a structural labour market and policy implementation to reduce the gender wage gap prevailing so far.