Gender Inequality and Economic Institutions: 

(i) In the initial stages of history when men and women were moving from one place to another in search of food and shelter; there was no structured gender division of labour. Nevertheless, some sort of division of labour did exist among the foraging bands and hunting and gathering people. Men hunted, while women gathered roots and fruits. But when human beings began to lead a settled existence and adopted plough based agriculture, a clear division between the work spheres of men and women emerged.

(ii) While men ploughed the land, women largely managed domestic work and took the responsibility for child bearing and rearing. Around this time work itself came to be divided into two spheres namely man's work and women's work. But the household continued to remain the unit of both production and consumption. It was with industry and manufacturing that the domestic unit began to lose out as a production unit. The world outside the home became a man's world and the world inside the home became a woman's world. A woman came to be referred to as 'housewife' or 'home maker', while a man began to be recognized as a producer or the breadwinner.

(iii) After industrialization swept the world, men got a further advantage over women because they had better opportunities to acquire education and skills. Since a large number of women stayed at home most of the time they did not have an exposure to the changes and developments taking place outside. Even if women entered industries, it was mostly in the lower level jobs.

(iv) In India today, the economy is divided into two categories, namely organized (formal) and unorganized (informal) sectors. The organized sector refers to jobs, which have a regular wage structure, through elaborate labour laws and work related benefits. But the unorganized sector consists of jobs, which are neither assured of a protected wage nor employment guarantee. The largest number of women who work outside their homes are in the unorganized sector and are subject to exploitation of different kinds.

(v) Though there is a law that equal pay be given for equal work, often women get lesser pay than men for the same work. In agriculture or construction work the jobs which women perform are paid a lower wage than those performed by men.

(vi) Whether women work outside their homes or not, domestic work is almost always a woman's responsibility. Though it is not possible to provide exact figures relating to the number of men who share domestic responsibilities, it is definitely true that in most families women take the safe responsibilities for housework. Women who have to work both inside and outside their home thus suffer the 'double burden' or 'double drudgery'. In any case, it is a woman who works most and receives the least recognition and benefits.