New Delhi: Though there are fewer self-employed people in Indian cities with a million-plus population compared to urban areas as a whole, the income gap between self-employed men and women remains high in both, according to the latest report of the National Statistical Office (NSO).
The average gender income gap in both the settings is Rs 16,000 per month, according to the Labour Dynamics in Million-plus Cities report based on the NSO’s Periodic Labour Force Survey across 46 million-plus cities across states.
On an average, a self-employed male in a million-plus city makes Rs 33,888 while a self-employed female makes Rs 16,167. Across the 46 cities, Pimpri Chinchwad, Vasai Virar and Greater Mumbai in Maharashtra, Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu and Howrah in West Bengal have the highest income gaps between self-employed male and female, with an average of Rs 28,600.
While the income of both genders is significantly lower in urban areas as a whole, the income gap is almost the same. Men make Rs 26,096 against Rs 10,237 women earn in urban areas.
An ‘urban area’ is described as a place with municipalities, corporations, etc., or has a population of at least 5,000; at least 75 percent of the male working population is engaged in non-agricultural sectors; and a minimum population density of 400 persons per sq. km.
For the study, NSO categorised workers in three subheads—salaried or regular job holders, casual workers and self-employed—and surveyed 500 to 2,000 people per city, with some exceptions,
The report, published on 29 June, reveals that while there is an average income gap between male and female workers in casual and regular categories too, the disparity is significantly lower—almost about 50 percent—than what has been recorded for the self-employed category.
In the regular wage-earner category, the gender income gap is not vastly different in million-plus city and urban areas, even though the actual earnings differ in the two settings.
While, in a million-plus city, a male employee earns Rs. 30,707 per month, a female employee earns Rs. 23,707 per month—an income gap of Rs.7000. In urban areas as a whole, men make Rs. 27,984 per month and women 21,664, an income gap of Rs 6,320.
The report also captures gender wage disparity in the casual labour category too. It says that in million-plus cities, the men make Rs 643 on average, while women make Rs 434, with a gap of Rs 209. In urban areas, the income stands at Rs 582 and Rs 366, respectively, with a gap of Rs 216.
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) categorises self-employment into two types. First are the own-account workers and employers. The own-account workers operate their enterprise (formal or informal) without hiring any employee, while own-account employers hire employees.
The second are the unpaid helpers in household enterprises (contributing family members). These are the family members who work full or part-time in household enterprises and are unpaid but considered as ‘employed’. Since these workers have no formal contractual service, access to social services or mandatory paid leaves/ sick leaves, they are not considered ‘employees’, but similar to ‘independent contractors’.
According to economists, such as former finance secretary Subhash Chandra Garg most of the self-employed women include unpaid family labour in family enterprises. “Even otherwise, most self-employed women work on low-paying jobs,” Garg said.
In her 2025 research paper ‘The Landscape of Self-employment in India: Trends, Constraints and Policy Prescriptions’, Dr. Farzana Afridi, a professor of economics at the Indian Statistical Institute, said the poor quality of work and low income could be attributed to the lack of vocational training for self-employed women.
While more than 15,000 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) with 30 percent of seats reserved for women have been set up by the government, according to the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), an independent non-profit economic policy institute, only three percent of the self-employed women had any professional training.
The NSO report also highlights the lower working hours for self-employed women. In million-plus cities, on average, self-employed males work 52 hours per week while self-employed females work for 35 hours. The statistics indicate up to 46.3 hours and 33 hours, respectively, for the two genders in urban areas.
Garg said that there is a general preference towards men in the labour market; this leads to them getting more working hours than women.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
Also Read: Leisure is a privilege in India—distributed unevenly along many lines
Such an insightful and important piece. The way the article goes beyond the numbers to unpack the structural realities behind the gender income gap makes it particularly compelling. A truly important conversation, presented with clarity and depth. Brilliant work!