INDIA’S BIGGEST cities seem to offer better opportunities for women to get salaried or regular jobs than urban India as a whole.According to the latest report on ‘Labour Market Dynamics in Million-plus Cities’ published by the National Statistics Office, women participation in such stable jobs is stronger in cities with one million-plus population compared with urban India as a whole. Women also surpass men in such jobs by a notable margin, i.e., 65.1% of all employed women in million plus cities have a regular or salaried job compared with 56.4% all employed men.Gender disparities in income, however, prevail in big cities as much or more than they do in urban India.Also Read | When empowerment stops at the dining tableThe report shows that women participation in regular or salaried jobs at 65.1% is also much stronger in 46 cities which have more than a million people as per Census 2011 compared with 50.9% in urban India.While this is true, it is also a fact that women’s worker population ratio (WPR) continues to languish. While men’s WPR in million-plus cities is 72.6%, that for women is 25.5%. This is not very different from that of urban India, as a whole (73% for men, and 25.9% for women). WPR is the percentage of persons employed among the persons in the population.There is a clear distinction in the employment trends of million-plus cities compared with urban India. Overall, regular or salaried jobs are markedly higher at 58.5% in these cities compared with 47.6% in urban India. Self-employed and casual jobs, put together, are higher at 52.4% in urban India compared with 41.4% jobs in million-plus cities. Jobs are divided in three categories: salaried or regular, self-employed, and casual.Also Read | Not boys versus girlsIn terms of income in regular jobs, while both men and women earn at least 10% more in million-plus cities compared with urban India, the income gap widens in the million-plus cities. Across urban India, men in regular salaried jobs earn an average Rs 27,984 a month against Rs 21,664 for women, a gap of Rs 6,320. In the country’s 46 largest cities, the gap widens to Rs 7,000, with men earning an average Rs 30,707 a month compared to Rs 23,707 for women. Women salaries as a percentage of men’s salaries is 77.2% both in million-plus cities and in urban India.Story continues below this adIn a handful of cities, though, women have achieved near pay parity with men in regular salaried jobs. Prayagraj tops the list, where women earn 131.2% of male salaries (Rs 42,254 against Rs 32,214), followed by Srinagar at 124% (Rs 33,869 vs Rs 27,323), Lucknow at 117.1% (Rs 31,744 vs Rs 27,098), Patna at 111.1% (Rs 31,013 vs Rs 27,902), Meerut at 105.9% (Rs 20,057 vs Rs 18,946) and Varanasi at 102.4% (Rs 20,821 vs Rs 20,331).The findings are part of the National Statistics Office’s latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2025, which for the first time presents labour market estimates for the 46 million-plus cities in India. The survey is based on interviews with around 3.95 lakh respondents across urban India, including nearly 60,000 in the 46 million-plus cities.Also Read | Gap between education and jobs for women in DelhiAmong the country’s major metropolitan centres, Greater Mumbai stands out. The city ranks eighth overall on gender pay parity, with women earning 98.2 per cent of men’s salaries. Women in regular salaried employment earn an average Rs 35,788 a month, just Rs665 less than men, who earn Rs36,453.The picture is less encouraging in the other metros. In Delhi, women earn 88.6% of men’s salaries (Rs 31,644 against Rs 35,708). Bengaluru follows with women earning Rs 28,325 compared to men’s Rs 37,430, a gap of 24.3%. In Chennai, women earn Rs 22,919 against men’s Rs 31,655, or 27.6% less. Kolkata records the widest gender pay gap among the five metros, with women earning Rs 13,784 a month compared to Rs 21,534 for men, leaving them 36% behind their male counterparts.Story continues below this adAlso Read | From women in panchayats, message for ParliamentThe survey also highlights the strong earnings premium enjoyed by self-employed workers in India’s largest cities, though here too the gender gap persists. Self-employed men earn an average Rs 33,888 a month in million-plus cities, compared with Rs 16,167 for women. Navi Mumbai emerged as the country’s most lucrative destination for entrepreneurs, with self-employed men earning Rs 62,234 a month and women Rs 84,913. Greater Mumbai ranked second for both categories, with self-employed men earning Rs 58,007 and women Rs 32,664.Also Read | What we measure, what we missThe divide is sharper in the informal economy. Across the 46 million-plus cities, male casual labourers earn an average Rs 643 a day compared to Rs 434 for women. Vasai-Virar offers the highest daily wage for men at Rs 962, while Srinagar tops the list for women at Rs 800. At the other end of the spectrum, female casual labourers earn just Rs 53 a day in Faridabad. Only Srinagar and Kolkata report women casual labourers earning more than men.The survey also points to a persistent gender divide in workforce participation. Across urban India, 65 per cent of women aged 30-59 are classified as NEET (Not in Employment, Education or Training), compared with just 4.4 per cent of men. In the country’s million-plus cities, the figure rises to 67 per cent for women, while remaining almost unchanged at 4.3 per cent for men.For nearly seven in ten women outside the workforce in million-plus cities, childcare and household responsibilities are the primary reason for not seeking employment. Among men, continuing education and health-related issues account for the overwhelming majority of those outside the labour force. Overall, the female labour force participation rate stands at 27.7 per cent across urban India and falls further to 25.5 per cent in the country’s 46 million-plus cities.