67% of Indian Women Believe in Pay Parity, Real Estate Sector Leads
Mumbai: A recent survey by Naukri.com has revealed that more than 67% of women in India across various sectors believe that pay parity exists at their workplaces. The real estate sector is leading the way, with 42% of respondents in this industry strongly believing in pay parity, followed by FMCG (38%), pharmaceutical and life sciences (38%), and automobiles (37%).
The report, titled 'What Women Professionals Want,' is based on a survey of 50,000 women across over 50 industries in the country. According to the findings, professionals in the retail (35%), hotels and restaurants (35%), IT Services and Consulting (34%), Telecom/ISP (34%), Medical Services/Hospital (33%), and Oil & Gas (33%) sectors also believe that pay parity exists at their workplaces.
The report, released on the eve of International Women's Day, highlighted a growing demand for equal pay audits and menstrual leave. The demand for these measures has risen to 27% from 19% in the previous year, with the highest demand coming from high-earners, at 48%. This indicates that 'the closer women get to the top, the more they can see the gap,' as stated in the report.
Despite the positive trends, the survey also revealed some concerning statistics. Nearly 50% of the respondents admitted to hiding their personal plans, such as marriage or maternity, during job interviews due to fears of bias. This hesitation is more pronounced among experienced professionals, rising from 29% among freshers to 40% for those with 10-15 years of experience.
Bias in hiring and promotions was identified as the biggest challenge faced by women at the workplace, with 42% of respondents citing this issue. This trend is consistent across major metro cities, including Chennai (44%) and Delhi/NCR (43%).
However, the report also brought some encouraging news. Despite the challenges, 83% of the respondents feel encouraged to pursue leadership roles, a significant increase from 66% in the previous year. This positive sentiment is particularly strong among women in southern cities.
'Behind every data point in this report is a woman who is ambitious. The fact that 83% feel encouraged to lead is something to celebrate. However, the fact that one in two still hide their marriage or maternity plans in interviews tells us the work is far from done,' said Sumeet Singh, CMO of Info Edge India Group.
