A historical analysis of Gender Inequality and its Contemporary Challenges for Women at Workplace

Abstract

Gender equality within the workplace has remained a persistent issue, with women encountering various obstacles and hurdles throughout their careers. This has manifested in the workplace, where women are assigned specific tasks that are subordinate, low-paying, and extremely exploitative, as positions of power and management are not perceived as 'feminine' in society. The study aimed examine the key factors contributing to the underrepresentation of women and the challenges they face in the workplace, and to analyze the historical progression of gender inequality in India's workforce and evaluate the impact of legal frameworks on improving women's workplace rights and protections. The qualitative research conducted under the descriptive and explanatory research methods. Thus, the study is intended to highlight the main social, cultural and economic factors being the causes of gender inequality having considered historical and present-day contexts in India. Furthermore, using the MS Word for statistical tools is convenient to compile and summarize the qualitative data and to produce meaningful conclusions. The findings showed that, after analyzing cultural and historical context it is possible to conclude that irrespective of the economic growth and the shift of sectors, women still face cultural and societal obstacles in achieving their economic opportunities and visibility in the different industries.