The UK gender pay gap will not close for more than fifty years unless action is taken to tackle it now, according to Deloitte. Current inequalities between pay rates for men and women may not be eradicated before 2069. So, if in the West we are so far behind on this issue, what chances do women cotton workers have in India? Here, women have few rights and are often underpaid, despite their vital role in cotton production. The average income for women in rural India is just 77 percent of the men’s income.