Making an anti-woman remark and then apologising for it has become common this season. Even otherwise reputable men are doing it, the most recent being Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella who said women should not ask for a raise but trust “faith” and “ karma ” to reward them appropriately. The remark is ironic considering that multiple studies show a gaping wage disparity due to gender. A study of students who graduated from Carnegie Mellon business school showed that only 7 per cent of women negotiated pay compared with 57 per cent of men. As a result, the starting salaries of women were nearly 8 per cent lower than that of their male peers.

At the launch of a cleanliness drive in a college, singer KJ Yesudas lamented the way women dress. Does he think the country will be clean only if the ‘unclean’ trend of women wearing comfortable clothes is purged? His and subsequent comments show how much clean-up is really needed in our thinking. On the other hand, you have people excusing rank unacceptable behaviour on the part of men saying “boys will be boys”. This is scary because what they say openly is something many men think secretly.

The reality is that there is a gender bias at all levels. A study by IIM Ahmedabad showed that women with advanced certificates or diplomas earn 10 per cent less than equally qualified men. Worse, the wage gap shoots up to over 40 per cent when we look at women with more qualifications such as a postgraduate degree.

We rejoice over Malala Yousafzai winning the Nobel prize as a vindication of woman’s rights. While she faced guns, there are many women who brave something as terrible — thoughtless public comments. Women do not need lip sympathy from men. There is no need to play protector while being a predator. What will help is a change of attitude and keeping regressive thoughts off public forums.

Meera Siva is Chief Research Analyst

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