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Nearly 42% women face bias in Indian workplaces: Survey
The survey also noted among women a strong ambition to succeed, with 90% of the respondents expressing a willingness to put in extra time and upskill to boost their careers
Nearly 42% of women faced bias while 37% faced insensitive behavior at Indian workplaces, a first-of-its-kind survey by a leading professional services firm in India found.
The survey also noted among women a strong ambition to succeed, with 90% of the respondents expressing a willingness to put in extra time and upskill to boost their careers.
Aon’s 2024 Voice of Women Study India delved into the experiences of nearly 24,000 women across 560 organizations, including small, medium and large companies, and found that nearly 6% of them had experienced sexual harassment and fewer than half of these harassment cases were formally reported.
Maternity leave exacerbated career hurdles, as 75% of working mothers experienced career setbacks of one-to-two years and nearly 40% facing negative impacts on pay or role.
The study also highlighted a trend of increasing bias at higher levels.
Women in leadership positions were more than twice as likely to experience discrimination compared to entry-level employees.
Those facing bias were 3.5 times more likely to perceive their workplace as unfair and 21% considered leaving their jobs within a year, as compared to only 6% of women who did not face workplace bias.
According to Nitin Sethi, chief executive officer of Talent Solutions in India for Aon, bias in the workplace is a critical barrier to attracting, retaining, and engaging female talent and is a stark reality that demands immediate attention.
“Building inclusive work culture has to be a CEO-led priority. Business decision makers must urgently take steps to address systemic bias through inclusive policies and practices for equitable pay, career progression and maternity guardrails. But more importantly, top leaders must role model the right behaviors and drive accountability for an inclusive culture that determines everyday behavior in teams and within the organization,” he said.
The study also underscores the positive impact of female leadership in a workplace.
Over half of women, around 53%, reported increased confidence in their career growth and a more positive work culture when they had visible female leaders.
Additionally, these women were less likely to perceive unfairness in performance reviews, promotions, and compensation.