It is nice to know that 73 per cent women in India rate themselves as highly ambitious. A whopping 90 per cent are willing to put in extra effort and go the extra mile at work. Wonderful, isn’t it? Yet, there are more men than women in the corporate world. Employers can no longer ignore the fact that the women in their workforce are leaving or are contemplating quitting because they are disappointed or unhappy with the work environment. What do women want from India Inc.?
A study by AON attempted to answer this question. The pan-India study of working women was undertaken to identify the challenges that women face at the workplace. The survey reveals that 36 per cent women in India admit to experiencing a setback in professional growth post maternity. About 42 per cent have faced bias at work, and and an alarming 82 per cent feel mentally exhausted. If this data is to be believed, women professionals cannot be blamed for harbouring whatever hatred they have for their places of work. Not surprisingly, only 27 per cent plan to stay on with their current organisations for two years or less. About 20 per cent are unsure whether they want to stay or leave.
What are the top three factors that women feel enable success at the workplace? Most employers know the answer—work-life balance, flexi-work option and supportive and inclusive managers, in that order.
What is disappointing is that despite employers being aware of these factors, not many have done enough to improve their scores in these areas. The survey—covering 24,000+ Indian women, including 9,500 working mothers across over 20 cities and towns—reveals that only 45 per cent of the women are satisfied with the work-life balance at the workplace, while 55 per cent are unsatisfied! When it comes to flexible work options, only 47 per cent are satisfied, while 53 per cent are unsatisfied.
However, a good 58 per cent are satisfied with their supportive and inclusive managers, leaving only 42 per cent unsatisfied. Some saving grace.
Of the unsatisfied lot, 54 per cent may leave in the next two years, while only 18 per cent of the satisfied lot shares the same sentiment.
Why are Indian working women so unhappy with their employers? For one, women continue to face bias at work. In fact, a significant 42 per cent have admitted to it. The most prevalent forms of bias are to do with their physical appearance, age, marital status or being a mother.
Employers need to sit up and take note of this. After all, women who face bias are 3.5 times more likely to leave their organisation in less than a year.
Another reason why women are unsatisfied is because one in three women have faced insensitivity at work. How does this insensitivity show up? In many ways, such as in judging them if they leave work early or when they are working remotely; in being interrupted while they are speaking at a meeting; in their credit being stolen for work and ideas; and even being excluded from interactions or conversations.
Then there is the biggest monster, sexual harassment, which just refuses to steer clear of workplaces, despite the growing awareness and global campaigns. One in 16 women in India has experienced sexual harassment at work. One in two women fails to report these incidents. Of those who did manage to muster the courage to report the harassment, one third women believe the matter was not attended to or resolved properly.
Only women have the privilege of being mothers, but a good number of women professionals end up paying a price for exercising that privilege. It is emotionally draining for most new mothers to leave their infants at home and return to work. Yet, they manage to overcome that turmoil and get back to their careers only to face setback and disappointment. A majority (75 per cent) admit to their career being set back by up to two years, while 25 per cent say their career was set by three or more years. That is quite a huge penalty for maternity.
It is unfair to make women professionals choose between motherhood and career advancement. Thirty-nine per cent of those who returned from maternity leave admit to having received a lower performance rating than the previous year. About 38 per cent who were due for promotion lost out on the chance when they returned from maternity leave. That isn’t all; 28 per cent suffered an adverse impact on pay and 22 per cent returned from maternity leave to a role they did not prefer.
Organisations need to create adequate pre- and post-maternity programmes. Managers have to be trained to be more sensitive, inclusive and supportive of pregnant women in their team as well as mothers. Steps need to be taken to recognise more women leaders and improve their visibility. Most importantly, pay equity should be ensured.
It is high time India Inc. realised the potential of its women. Women are doing wonders as wives, mothers, sisters, friends, care givers and professionals. These multi-taskers should not have to choose between being their true selves and succeeding in their professional careers. Instead, their talent should be leveraged without them having to compromise either on the professional front or the domestic. This will increase the female labour force participation or LFPR from the present pathetic 37 per cent (compared to the 78.5 per cent LFPR of men). Closing the gender employment gap, says the study, could help make India a $10 trillion economy in a decade.