67% of Women Believe in Pay Parity at Workplaces; Real Estate Sector Leads the Way

MUMBAI, Mar 7: More than 67 per cent of women in India across various sectors believe that pay parity exists at workplaces, with the real estate sector leading among industries, according to a report released by Naukri.com.

The report, titled ‘What Women Professionals Want,’ is based on a survey of 50,000 women across more than 50 industries in the country. According to the survey, 67 per cent of respondents said pay parity exists at their workplaces. This belief is particularly strong among professionals in the real estate sector, where 42 per cent of respondents reported pay parity, followed by FMCG (38 per cent), pharmaceutical and life sciences (38 per cent), and automobiles (37 per cent).

Respondents from retail (35 per cent), hotels and restaurants (35 per cent), IT Services and Consulting (34 per cent), Telecom/ISP (34 per cent), Medical Services/Hospital (33 per cent), and Oil & Gas (33 per cent) also believed pay parity exists.

The report, released on the eve of International Women’s Day, also highlighted a growing demand for equal pay audits and menstrual leave. The demand for these measures increased to 27 per cent from 19 per cent in the previous year, with the highest demand coming from high-earners (48 per cent). This trend indicates that ‘the closer women get to the top, the more they can see the gap,’ the report noted.

Furthermore, the report revealed that nearly 50 per cent of respondents hid their personal plans, such as marriage or maternity plans, fearing bias. One in two women (50 per cent) hesitate to share such plans in interviews due to fear of bias (34 per cent). This hesitation intensifies with experience, rising from 29 per cent among freshers to 40 per cent for those with 10-15 years of experience.

Nearly 42 per cent of respondents identified bias in hiring and promotions as the biggest challenge faced by diverse women at the workplace. This challenge grew by 7 basis points year-on-year and is consistent across major metro cities like Chennai (44 per cent) and Delhi/NCR (43 per cent).

Despite these challenges, 83 per cent of the respondents feel encouraged to pursue leadership roles, up from 66 per cent, especially those in the southern cities. ‘Behind every data point in this report is a woman who is ambitious. The fact that 83 per cent 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.

Info Edge India, the parent firm of Naukri.com, Jeevansathi.com, and 99acres.com, conducted this comprehensive survey to shed light on the experiences and aspirations of women professionals in India.