Voice of Women At Workplace
Women, today, have every bit as much game-changing talent and have proved themselves as successful entrepreneurs and “organization builders” as do men. The problem is, millions of potential star women leaders are on the side-lines, and this isn’t good for the economy, organizations, or communities. Despite being equally qualified, capable and proving themselves time and again, women tend to get a cold shoulder. There are many challenges women face which seldom get a platform to voice them.
Women feel “Often our views, opinions, and ideas are brushed off or deemed insignificant. Even today, we are judged or looked down upon because of gender stereotypes. Though there are numerous precedents of women overcoming challenges to reach at the top, not all get the recognition they deserve. OUR VOICES MATTER and are equally important.
RESEARCH PURPOSE :
The purpose of the survey is to understand the factors that influence and affect women’s feeling of involvement in their organizations.
PARTICIPANTS : 516 Working Women
RESEARCH TOUCH POINTS
- SENSE OF BELONGING
- SENSE OF PROGRESSION
- SENSE OF SUPPORT
- SENSE OF UNBIASEDNESS
- SENSE OF ASPIRATION
SENSE OF BELONGING
A high majority of women employees consciously and subconsciously tend to put away their individuality and traits because they believe it would be difficult for them to assimilate these with the organizational culture.
But what if one can be oneself at their workplace and have the liberation to feel at home?
Are women employees being heard, and given a chance to present their opinions?
In our interviews with women employees from various industries:
Workplaces that lacks robust safety policies, processes, work ethics, trust, respect and do not recognize the work and accomplishments, fails to create and foster the sense of belonging
It is imperative for women to have an inclusive environment, where they can be in their true selves, freely express their opinions, are considered an integral part of the team, their contributions are valued, and their successes celebrated.
SENSE OF BELONGING - KEY INSIGHT FINDINGS:
Research Findings :
# 71 % Respondents agreed that they feel less belongingness when something negative happens with them at the workplace
# 36% Respondents disagreed when asked if they think they belong to their organization
# 36% Respondents said that their opinions are not valued when they speak up
# 35% Respondents disagreed when asked if they are respected and valued by their managers
# 25% Respondents disagreed when asked if they are respected and valued by their teammates and colleagues
In our interviews with women employees from various industries:
Workplaces that lacks robust safety policies, processes, work ethics, trust, respect and do not recognize the work and accomplishments, fails to create and foster the sense of belonging
It is imperative for women to have an inclusive environment, where they can be in their true selves, freely express their opinions, are considered an integral part of the team, their contributions are valued, and their successes celebrated.
SENSE OF PROGRESSION
While we talk a lot about diversity and inclusion and celebrate ground-breaking successes in terms of bringing in more women to the workforce, we often do not realize that just because someone is “included” in the organization, it does not mean they feel they “belong” to the organization.
Though Diversity and Inclusion in an organization should be a basic and underlying support, it is not enough unless you take the Sense of Belonging into the equation. It forms the basis for psychological safety and employee engagement.
A high majority of women employees consciously and subconsciously tend to put away their individuality and traits because they believe it would be difficult for them to assimilate these with the organizational culture.
But what if one can be oneself at their workplace and have the liberation to feel at home?
Are organizations really helping their women employees to progress in their careers?
It is important to address this as we still need answers to the following questions:
- How respected and valued do women feel at the workplace, by their managers and peers?
- To what degree do women have a positive and negative experience at the workplace?
- Do companies have policies for open communication?
SENSE OF PROGRESSION – KEY RESEARCH INSIGHTS
Research Findings :
# 79% Respondents said that organization do not provide SPONSORSHIP to women for higher education
# 54% Respondents with 11+ years of work experience said that their organizations do not support them with capability development programmes
# 33% Respondents disagree that their organization believes in women’s capability development
# 33% Respondents said that the women employees in their organizations are NOT SUPPORTED with capability development programmes
# 29% Respondents said that their organization DOES NOT HAVE capability development programmes
In our interviews with women employees from various industries:
Most women agreed on having capability development programmes in their organization but in the past few years, they did not have enough motivation to take these up due to added responsibilities from the home-front.
Women also said that for a senior role there are not many home-grown talents that the organizations give opportunities to but rather prefer external hiring.
“We have policies regarding capability development and there are certain criteria for that as well. Not everyone, but few employees are getting benefits out of these. Specifically, about me, I haven’t been a part of such activities for the past few years” -Woman professional with 15+ years of work experience
SENSE OF SUPPORT
Added responsibilities of family and children down the career path forces a lot of women employees to take a career break (as sabbatical or maternity leave) or a permanent exit from the workforce. With too stringent policies in most organizations, women are compelled to make such decisions.
Owing to family-related pressures and responsibilities, a lot of women employees are forced out of the corporates. While, the support from the family’s side is imperative to their career progression, it is equally important for the organizations to step-up at the right moment to help the women employees, who want to continue on their career path.
However, it is seen that corporates often turn a cold shoulder to such employees and so they have to either resort to career breaks or drop off from their career path. After coming out of career breaks due to maternity or sabbatical leaves, women are not recognized as ideal candidates even for the same position and pay scale and most of the time are assigned sub-par work as compared to people with similar work-experience
Many companies claim to have a very supportive work-environment with people allowed to take breaks during their work hours, in-house childcare support, emergency leave provision, and work-from home options.
However, women have faced the consequences of availing these services in terms of negative impact during performance reviews and inappropriate appraisals and promotions.
Are organizations doing enough to build up a conducive environment at workplace for their women employees?
SENSE OF SUPPORT – KEY RESEARCH INSIGHTS
Research Findings :
# 61% Respondents with 11+ years of work experience said that their organizations are not doing enough to support work-life balance.
# 57% Respondents with 11+ years of work-experience believe their organization does not have a flexible work-culture
# 50% Respondents from the Manufacturing sector said that their organizations are not doing enough to support work-life balance
# 49% Overall respondents said that their organizations are not doing enough to support work-life balance
# 47% Overall respondents said that their organization does not have a flexible work-culture
In our interviews with women employees from various industries:
Many women said that though their organizations allowed them to take short breaks during the work hours, or opt for WFH during specific family emergencies, they have faced repercussions in terms of performance appraisals and the quality of work assigned to them.
Women also said that when a female employee joins the workforce after maternity or sabbatical, they have had to compromise on the salary and designation
“Once a person starts working, they usually don't get a chance to pursue a fresh course. But if a company provides training and workshops, we could learn new skills, and can apply it in our work also, so it is profitable for both.” - Woman professional with 13+ years of work experience
“Whenever I would use these facilities and rush from my workplace to home, that thing would ultimately show up in my performance report and they'd be like you should take less work pressure and would give you less important work. ” - Woman professional with 10+ years of work experience
SENSE OF UNBIASEDNESS
A lot is talked about getting “EQUALITY” at workplaces for men and women. Still, we often fail to realize that to empower women in the workplace; we need “EQUITY” rather than “EQUALITY”
Equality focuses on equal treatment without considering the need while Equity focuses on giving more to those who need it more.
While most organizations are working towards making their workplaces more gender neutral, according to the World Bank India has seen a decline in the participation of women employees in the workforce in the last 25 years.
One of the reasons why gender parity is still a big concern around the globe is that MALES DON’T UNDERSTAND the privileges they are entitled to just because of their gender.
If you are a male, then it’s highly unlikely that:
-You are paid unfairly with respect to your women colleagues
-You’re overlooked for a position just because you’ve recently married or assumed parenthood
-You face problems with travelling late from work or feeling safe in the office premises
-You won’t land the job you’re qualified for just because the hiring person believes you won’t be able to handle stressful situations or put in extra hours
Females, on the other hand, face these issues every day!
Do organizations focus on “EQUITY” for women?
SENSE OF UNBIASEDNESS – KEY RESEARCH INSIGHTS
Research Findings :
# 55% Respondents said that promotions decisions in their workplaces are not taken fairly
# 50% Respondents said their compensation is not fair according to similar roles in the organization
# 48% Respondents said they don’t have fair compensation at their workplace
# 48% Respondents said that performance evaluation is not done fairly in their workplaces
# 38% Respondents disagreed when asked if their organization promotes gender equality at the workplace.
In our interviews with women employees from various industries, we found out that:
Women experience a disparity in salaries and the nature of the work for similar roles in their organizations.
Most women agree that there are strong stereotypes that guide the behaviour of appointing a woman for a particular role, especially in higher positions, just because of her gender.
“Gender bias is so deeply ingrained in most organizations that one doesn’t have to look for too long to experience it.” -Woman professional with 18+ years of work experience
“Yes, there were a few instances of biases and I think they are present everywhere. I used to raise my voice regarding certain concerns that we had as I was in HR, but not always are our grievances addressed.” - Woman professional with 7+ years of work experience
“Even if a woman is capable of a leadership position, they are not considered as worthy as their male counterparts for putting in their best at their jobs. There are still strong stereotypes regarding women in the mindset of people even though they are getting ahead in their career.” -Woman professional with 15+ years of work experience
SENSE OF ASPIRATION
Out of every 100 CEOs and Managing Directors in top 1000 companies in India, only 3 are women.
Even after SEBI's 2018 mandate to appoint an independent women director on the Company Board, as many as 150 out of 1000 top companies in India have not complied with the directives.
This is either due to:
- Shortage of deserving women professionals in the industry
- Negligence on the part of corporates to provide women with relevant opportunities to lead from the front. Both of these are equally detrimental in the path of incorporating women empowerment at workplaces.
With decision-making still beyond the grasp of women leaders, how could other women pave their path to the top?
Despite all the efforts towards boosting gender diversity at workplaces, the corporates still struggle to bring women to the forefront of the organizations.
The efforts towards women empowerment at workplaces are fruitless until we address the issue of women in leadership roles.
Why do women suffer gender “as an obstacle” in career advancement?
SENSE OF ASPIRATION – KEY RESEARCH INSIGHTS
Research Findings:
# 86% Respondents said that diversity at the workplace is very important for them
# 65% Respondents with 11+ years of work experience are not confident that they can develop their career in their current organization
# 64%Respondents agreed that working at their company is important to the way that they think of themselves as a person
# 47% Respondents are not confident that they can develop their career in their current organization
# 39 % Respondents are not comfortable with voicing any contrary opinions, without the fear of consequences
In our interviews with women employees from various industries:
Almost every woman agreed that they have a minimal representation of women leaders in their organization.
Women responded by saying that their voices are often not heard or neglected in meetings and are very rarely involved in the organization's decision-making process.
“Women are appointed just for namesake and to make up for the gender diversity policy that is in place at the organization. They rarely have a say in decision making of the organization and are never hired for a senior role; only for low or mid-level. There were very few instances where women were asked to take up a call on some important things.” - Woman professional with 7+ years of work experience
“If there is a career plan in place, and things are moving towards it, I’d definitely prefer staying in this organization. Ultimately growth in the organization comes first, culture or comfort in the workplace is secondary.” - Woman professional with 13+ years of work experience
“I always used to think it’s not about the organization it’s about the way you work. If I am happy here I’ll be working here. I don't think every day about negative things. I've always been thinking about ways to overcome the obstacles I face but then if something is really bad that cannot be worked up or that is not working at all, you would think about taking a break and move out.“ - Woman professional with 30+ years of work experience
Download the Research Report for More Research Insights
Research Team -
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Abhishek Chaudhary - Research Project Head BSc - Chemistry, MBA - Marketing from PIMSR, Mumbai University A Talent Acquisition Professional by training. Passionate about Human Resources and Market Research, how Market Research can be utilised for the betterment of Human Resources. Enjoys reading fiction books and is also a passionate Aquarist. |
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Abhijeet Kothiyal - Project Management Intern MBA. DMS - IIT Delhi Dedicated, passionate and result-oriented team player, with an open mind and thorough approach towards situations. Demonstrated leadership acumen in both academic and professional settings. Tech-savvy and data-driven with a knack for strategy and marketing. |
Survey Research By : Her Career Foundation