It was amid much fanfare that Kudumbashree recruited and trained 90 women to be conductors in Kerala’s private buses, six months back. However, thanks to gender bias, 89 of them have quit their job citing a harsh reality: work done by women simply isn’t valued as highly.
Yes, when women take over a male dominated field, the pay drops.
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A woman conductor on the condition of anonymity told a leading national daily that despite doing the same work, she was being paid less than her male counterparts.
"I worked for Rs 300 a day for the initial three months, and after persistent demands, it was increased to Rs 500. Then I was told that there would be no more wage hike despite putting in over 12 hours a day even as men were paid Rs 800 to Rs 900. So, I left after five months,” she said.
The authorities, however, had a slightly different take. Trivializing the mass resignation, they maintained that it’s just that the women couldn’t cope with long working hours.
“Unlike KSRTC bus stations, private bus stands have no comfort stations for women conductors, making life difficult for them. Often work starts as early as 5 am and goes on till 9 pm, which implies that only a few who live along the route of the services can manage it,” M.B. Satyan, president, Kerala State Private Bus Operators’ Federation reportedly said.
Needless to say, one more women empowerment project has bitten the dust as Kudumbashree has suspended the project forever.