72 percent women in India reject roles that don’t allow for flexible working

Apr 13, 2022 Credit: Canva

Pay cuts, bias and exclusion

India’s working women are quitting or considering quitting their jobs in 2022 as pay cuts, bias, and exclusion become their penalties for working flexibly, reveals a new Linkedin Career Breaks report. Credit: Canva

Need more flexibility

LinkedIn’s research shows that following the impact of the pandemic, 8 in 10 (83 percent) of working women have realised they want to work more flexibly. Credit: Canva

Women need right policies

The report suggests that 72 percent of working women are rejecting job roles that don’t allow them to work flexibly, while 70 percent have already quit or considered quitting their jobs because they weren’t offered the right flexible policies. Credit: Canva

Benefits of flexible working

When asked about the benefits of flexible working, around 2 in 5 women or 43 percent of women said it improves their work-life balance, while other 43 percent said that it helps them progress their careers, 1 in 3 or 34 percent said it improves their mental health, and 33 percent said that it increases their likelihood of staying in their current jobs. Credit: Canva

But due to strong employer bias, working women are paying heavy penalties to work flexibly, says report.

Penalties working women had to face

The report further highlights that 9 out of 10 or 88 percent of women had to take a pay cut to work flexibly. While 2 out of 5 or 37 percent women got their flexible working request denied by the employers, and 1 out of 4 or 27 percent of women struggled to convince their bosses to accept their request. Credit: Canva

Women shy away from talking about flexible working

Another shocking fact the report revealed is that 1 in 3 or 34 percent of women shy away from telling their clients that they work remotely. Credit: Canva

Career break

As working women continue to juggle between personal commitments and career progress within rigid schedules, 4 in every 5 or 78 percent of them in India are taking career breaks to improve their well-being, plan career changes, and boost their confidence at work. Credit: Canva

Career break was not a good choice

According to the report, about 4 in every 5 or 77 percent working women in India who took a break say that it had actually set them back in their careers. Credit: Canva

35 percent women lie about their career breaks

Due to the prevalent stigma associated with career breaks among recruiters and employers, 50 percent of working women in India found it difficult to explain their career break to recruiters. As a result, 42 percent of them choose to exclude career breaks from their resume, while 35 percent of them lie about their breaks to recruiters during the interview. Credit: Canva