Precarious Work and the Wage Gap: When Education Isn't Enough
Education is the most reliable route out of poverty, but it is not a guarantee. A girl can finish school and still find herself in informal, low-paid work with no contract, no benefits and no path to advancement. The wage gap is not only a story about qualifications. It is about who carries care work, which jobs are considered women's work, and who has the power to negotiate.
Part 9 of 10 in our series on the consequences of poverty and inequality on girls and women. Series overview · All articles.
What the evidence says
The International Labour Organization estimates that women are paid roughly 20% less than men globally, and that the gap is wider in informal and low-skilled work. Women are over-represented in informal employment, in agriculture, domestic work, home-based production and small-scale trade, where wages are low and protections are weak.
The World Bank's Women, Business and the Law research shows that legal equality is improving, but it also shows how many economies still restrict women's ability to work, own property or open a business in the same way as men. The gap is not a single barrier. It is a series of small disadvantages that accumulate over a working life.
How poverty and inequality drive it
Three mechanisms matter most. First, care work: women who carry the bulk of unpaid care are more likely to accept part-time, flexible or home-based work, which pays less and offers fewer protections. Second, occupational segregation: women are concentrated in jobs that are treated as extensions of domestic work, such as garment stitching, food processing and domestic service, where wages are suppressed. Third, discrimination: hiring, promotion and pay decisions still favour men in many settings.
Poverty makes all three worse. A woman with no savings cannot afford to wait for a better job, and a woman with no land or collateral cannot borrow to start a business. Informal work is often the only option, and informal work is where the wage gap is widest.
What it does to a girl's life
Precarious work means in-work poverty: a woman can work full-time and still not escape poverty. It means no sick pay, no maternity protection, no pension and no safety net when a job disappears. It also increases exposure to harassment and exploitation, because workers without contracts have less power to complain.
The long-term cost is compounded. Women in informal work save less, retire later and are more likely to be poor in old age. Their daughters are more likely to leave school early, because the household needs their labour or cannot afford the fees. The wage gap is therefore not only a current inequality; it is a mechanism that transmits poverty to the next generation.
In India
India's Periodic Labour Force Survey shows female labour force participation at around 37% in 2022-23, against roughly 79% for men. A large share of women workers are in informal employment, including agriculture, domestic work and home-based manufacturing. The gender wage gap persists across sectors, and is widest for low-skilled and informal workers.
CRY has documented how girls who leave school early enter low-paid work with little bargaining power, and how unpaid care and safety concerns limit women's mobility. India has strong laws on equal remuneration and maternity benefits, but enforcement is uneven, especially in the informal economy where most women work. Access to childcare, safe transport and financial services remains decisive.
What changes it
The evidence supports a combination: skills training that leads to recognised qualifications, childcare and safe transport that make paid work possible, formalisation of informal enterprises, pay transparency, and stronger enforcement of equal pay and maternity laws. Financial inclusion and access to credit help women start and grow businesses.
Enterprise models matter too. When women produce and sell directly, rather than working for an intermediary, they capture more of the value. That is why artisan enterprises, cooperatives and marketplaces can be more than charity: they change who sets the price. Skills alone are not enough; women also need markets, capital and a voice in the enterprise.
Collective action is the other lever. Workers who can organise, whether in a union, a cooperative or a producer group, are better able to negotiate pay, safety and hours. For women in informal work, the group may be the only form of protection available. It also reduces isolation, which matters for women whose work is otherwise hidden inside a home.
What Sneha Karma Foundation does
Our Skills Development programme helps women build marketable skills, Support-A-Artisan provides capital and market access, and Artisans Direct connects their products to buyers. The goal is a livelihood, not a training certificate.
Read how skills become a steady income in Assam to see the model in practice.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes. The ILO estimates a global gap of around 20%, and it is wider in informal and low-paid work. Legal equality has improved, but enforcement and care responsibilities still hold women back.
Care responsibilities, limited mobility, lack of childcare, discrimination and lack of capital push women into work that can be done at home or on flexible terms. Those jobs pay less and offer fewer protections.
It narrows it but does not close it. Women with the same qualifications still face segregation, care penalties and discrimination. Childcare, pay transparency and enforcement matter too.
You can give to skills and enterprise programmes, or buy from Artisans Direct, which pays artisans directly.
Sources
- ILO: Global Wage Report
- ILO: informal economy
- World Bank: Women, Business and the Law
- India PLFS
- CRY: child rights
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