Indian women are ambitious about careers, parenting — much more than global peers

• While Indian women do believe that being ambitious is important to achieve success and is something to be proud of, they are more committed towards achieving personal goals — including parenting, relationships and health.
  
• A study was conducted by American Express, in collaboration with The New York Women’s Foundation shows that as much as 91% of the women in India prioritise personal ambitions — much higher than the global average of 68%.
  
• Over 70% of them also feel that confidence in having the skills and qualifications is very much necessary to be effective in performing their job.

Indian women are more ambitious — in the sense they want to be better parents, have deeper personal relationships and also chase better health. And, they are much more serious about achieving them than others across the world.

A study conducted by American Express, in collaboration with The New York Women’s Foundation showed that as much as 91% of the women in India prioritise personal ambitions — much higher than the global average of 68%.

The study also revealed that Indian women feel the strong urge to work harder than their male counterparts so as to have recognition at the workplace — and they are proud of calling themselves ‘ambitious.’ Over 70% of them also feel that confidence in having the skills and qualifications is very much necessary to be effective in performing their job.

“The Ambitious Insights study throws light on the fact that ambition is not a simple thing. It exists across many dimensions- successful careers, financial independence and skills, while also being healthy, being great parents and having strong personal relationships,” said Manoj Adlakha, senior vice president and CEO of American Express India.

The working women survey was conducted across the U.S, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, and the UK.

In spite of its motivated female workforce, India has a long way to go before they attain gender parity. According to the World Economic Forum Gender Gap Report, it will take 257 years to eliminate the prevailing gender gap in the workforce, globally. India ranked 112th in the Global Gender Gap Index in 2020.

“I feel that women in India have always been driven, and the report attests, that given a chance, they have the confidence to nurture their ambitions and lead the world in setting an example. The study demonstrates the power that vocal leadership, a dedicated community and collective ambition can have on women’s overall advancement,” Adlakha added.

See also:
India tops the world in producing female graduates in STEM but ranks 19th in employing them