Working mothers in the Indian corporate sector are grappling with significant challenges, as revealed by Aon’s 2024 Voice of Women study, which has surveyed over 24,000 women employees across more than 560 companies.
The study uncovers a pervasive "maternity penalty," with 75 percent of working mothers reporting a career setback of 1-2 years after returning from maternity leave. Additionally, nearly 40 percent of these women noted that going on maternity leave hurt their pay, and many found that their roles were either altered or derailed to positions they did not prefer.
Gender specificities dominate the workspace
Moreover, it even highlighted a broader issue of bias and discrimination in the workplace. Nearly half of the women reported mentioning their experiences of biases or potential biases at work, while 37 percent said they had encountered insensitive behaviour. Furthermore, 6 percent of respondents reported experiencing sexual harassment, with less than half of these cases being officially reported.
An importing finding claimed that the disparity in experiences of bias is based on career progression. Women in senior management and leadership roles are twice as likely to face discrimination compared to those in entry-level positions, with 34 percent of senior women reporting bias versus 17 percent of entry-level women.
Women who have experienced bias are 3.5 times more likely to view aspects of their organizational experience as unfair and are more likely to consider leaving their jobs within a year. The study also emphasizes the positive impact of female leadership in organizations.
Over half of the women surveyed (53 percent) had visible female leaders who reported increased confidence in their career growth, and 52 percent noted a positive impact on their workplace culture. Additionally, the presence of female leaders was found to reduce the perception of unfairness in critical people processes such as performance reviews, promotions, and compensation.
A higher number of women equals to higher growth
"The data highlights that the higher the positive experiences women have at the workplace, the greater the representation of women in the workforce," Khanna said. She advocated for businesses to deepen their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) efforts by actively listening to women in the workplace and using data-driven insights to make informed decisions that support women employees at various life stages.
Nitin Sethi, CEO of Talent Solutions in India for Aon, critically emphasized the dire need for businesses to address these issues."Bias at work is impeding businesses’ efforts to engage and retain skilled and committed women in the workforce. It is a reality that cannot be brushed aside. Building inclusive work culture has to be a CEO-led priority," Sethi stated.
He urged the leaders at top positions to take urgent steps in promoting inclusive policies and practices, particularly around equitable pay, career progression, and maternity support, while also role-modelling the right behaviours to foster an inclusive culture. This growing bias essentially affects their perception of fairness within their organizations.
The Aon 2024 Voice of Women study is one of the largest pan-India surveys of working women, aimed at identifying factors influencing their success in the workplace and understanding their experiences of inclusion. The findings contribute to Aon’s Women’s Workplace Experience (WWE) Index, which assesses women’s experiences in the workplace and correlates higher positive experiences with greater representation of women in companies.
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