Women in India's largest cities: More salaried jobs, but still paid less
India's million-plus cities offer better opportunities for women to obtain regular or salaried employment compared to urban India as a whole, according to a new report from the National Statistics Office. However, a significant gender pay gap persists, with men earning more on average.
The report, titled 'Labour Market Dynamics in Million-plus Cities', reveals that 65.1% of employed women in these 46 cities hold regular or salaried jobs, against 56.4% of employed men. This is notably higher than the 50.9% of women in urban India overall who have such jobs.
Despite this, women's worker population ratio (WPR) remains low at 25.5% in million-plus cities, compared to 72.6% for men. This ratio is similar to urban India as a whole, where women's WPR stands at 25.9% and men's at 73%.
In terms of income, both men and women earn at least 10% more in million-plus cities than in urban India, but the pay gap widens. Across urban India, men in regular salaried jobs earn an average of Rs 27,984 per month against Rs 21,664 for women, a gap of Rs 6,320. In the million-plus cities, the gap increases to Rs 7,000, with men earning Rs 30,707 and women Rs 23,707. Women's salaries are 77.2% of men's in both categories.
However, a few cities have achieved near parity or even reversed the gap. Prayagraj tops the list with women earning 131.2% of men's salaries (Rs 42,254 vs Rs 32,214), followed by Srinagar (124%), Lucknow (117.1%), Patna (111.1%), Meerut (105.9%), and Varanasi (102.4%).
Among major metros, Greater Mumbai stands out with women earning 98.2% of men's salaries (Rs 35,788 vs Rs 36,453). In Delhi, women earn 88.6% of men's salaries (Rs 31,644 vs Rs 35,708). Bengaluru, Chennai, and Kolkata show wider gaps, with women earning 24.3%, 27.6%, and 36% less than men, respectively.
The findings are from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2025, which for the first time provides estimates for the 46 million-plus cities based on interviews with nearly 3.95 lakh respondents across urban India.
