Abstract The current study focused on areas of gender inequality and discrimination in coffee plantations in Karnataka, with respect to the Plantation Labour Act, 1951. As per Census 2011, coffee plantations were major employers of women workers in Karnataka; out of a total of 4.8 lakh average daily workers employed in coffee plantations, 62% were women workers. The study concentrated on categories where gender discrimination in the labor market occurred mostly: employment status, payment of minimum wages, social security benefts, and conditions of work. A representative survey was conducted in four different types of plantations based on the holding size, namely large, medium, small, and marginal plantations. A total of 510 (283 male + 227 female) people were interviewed for the survey in Chikmagalur, Hassan, and Kodagu District of Karnataka, India. The fndings showed that in the case of entitlement to other benefts, male-female disparity was found in all types of plantation units, from large to marginal coffee estates. In conclusion, it can be said that a majority of the workers – both male and female – had experienced a drop in wages and other benefts that they were entitled to under the PLA. Keywords: Coffee, Plantation Labour Act, Gender Inequality, Plantation Size, Employment Status Gender Disparity: A Study of Coffee Plantation Workers in South India Molly Chattopadhyay* * Professor, Economic Analysis Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. Email: molly@isibang.ac.in; cmolly2001@yahoo.co.in segregation, with women concentrated in poorly-paid, unskilled jobs, and of disparity in earnings, with women earning less than men (Anker, 1997; Birdsall & Sabot, 1991). Employers refected social prejudice about women’s work. For example, they argued that women were only working to buy beauty products (Joekes, 1985). In other words, a woman’s work was not considered to be an important source of revenue for the family. However, the rate of female employment in the coffee plantation sector of India was in stark contrast to the labor market trends. As per NSSO (2011-12), overall female worker population ratio was 24% by usual status, 1 whereas it was 34% in the coffee plantation sector. The current study 2 is focused on areas of gender inequality with respect to the Plantation Labour Act, 1951 (PLA), and various government acts for provision of social security in coffee plantations in Karnataka. Four areas will be investigated: a) employment size and activity status, b) conditions of employment, c) payment of minimum wage, and d) receipt of social security benefts. The area covered for the study is the statutory obligations of the employers under PLA, such as provision of earned leave, weekly off with wages, accommodation, drinking water and medical facilities in garden hospitals, canteen, and children’s education, along with payment of minimum wages, bonus, and overtime. 1 The estimate of employed (or worker) in the age group 15-64 according to the usual status (principal status) gives the number of persons who worked for a relatively long period of the 365 days preceding the date of survey. 2 This paper is the revised version of the paper ‘Women Workers in Coffee Plantations’ presented in the conference on “Women’s Work in Rural Economies”, organized by Foundation for Agrarian Studies held in Kochi, India, November 30 – December 2, 2018. Introducton Studies on female employment had demonstrated the existence of wage discrimination against women (Bourquia, 2002; Joekes, 1985). Labor market discrimination against women was legitimized by stereotypes and social discourse surrounding women employees. Within the urban labor market, gender discrimination tended to take the form of occupational Journal of Rural and Industrial Development 8 (2) 2020, 01-11 http://publishingindia.com/jrid/ Submitted: 7 June, 2019 Accepted: 20 January, 2020