A recent study revealed that only 4% of men in India experience this situation, whereas a larger number of women quit their jobs in pursuit of a more favourable work-life balance.
The Centre for Economic Data at Ashoka University and the Udaiti Foundation recently released the Women in India Inc HR Managers Survey. The results showed that the top three reasons women quit their jobs were to get higher salaries, better career prospects, and a better work-life balance.
On the other hand, men were concerned about their salaries, job prospects, and the direction of their careers.
“This means that policies meant to keep women in the workforce should specifically address this issue,” the report said.
The poll revealed that some companies still considered the marital status of female job applicants when making hiring decisions. 38% of HR managers did this for women, but only 22% did it for men. Women faced challenges based on age (43%) and location (26%), as well as other factors (39% and 21%).
“We found that hiring managers are much more likely to look at a woman’s age and marital status when she applies for a job than a man’s. This can make it harder to hire more women.” We also find that women who have taken a break from their careers have a hard time getting hired when they try to go back to work. “This shows that implementing gender-neutral hiring practices alone won’t guarantee equal outcomes for men and women,” the study said.
Professor of Economics at Ashoka University, Dr. Ashwini Deshpande, said, “The right mix of policies at work will allow women to stay on, move up in their careers, and contribute to the growth of the organisation.”
