Women @ Work 2024

1. Women @ Work 2024: India market outlook Deloitte's Women @ Work report is now in its fourth year. The report focuses on the impact of workplace and societal factors on women's careers. It aims to comprehend women's experiences at work and how factors outside of work can affect these experiences. Previous reports highlighted the adverse effects of the pandemic and the resulting challenges. This year's Women at Work 2024 continues to explore these issues while also looking more closely at women's experiences with their health, safety, rights, and household responsibilities. The research encompasses the perspectives of 5,000 women from diverse organizations in 10 countries. These women are employed in sectors such as financial services, energy, resources, industrials, government and public services, business services, life sciences and health care, consumer services, technology, media, and telecommunications. Key Findings on Female Workforce India India's women stand out from their global counterparts on key themes. The information in the section below takes a closer look at what makes Indian Women Professionals 2024 unique. Women experience higher levels of stress, mental health stigma continues to be prevalent, and extended working hours have negative effects. As per the Deloitte Women at Work Report, half of the women report higher stress levels compared to a year ago. In the past year, certain females opted to take a break from work due to mental health-related issues. However, a significant majority, specifically two-thirds of them, feel hesitant to engage in discussions about mental health matters while at work. There's also a connection between working hours and mental health. Many women work diligently through pain to fulfill their professional responsibilities. More than 25% of women report facing difficulties related to menstruation, menopause, or fertility. Around 40% of women who experience significant pain during menstruation or menopause say they continue working without taking time off, which is a more significant percentage compared to last year, especially regarding menopause. Women often feel hesitant to talk about these issues in the workplace. Women who reside with a partner continue to primarily bear the responsibility for childcare and, increasingly, the care of other adults. This year, half of women with children at home take the most responsibility for childcare, up from 46% last year. Additionally, nearly 60% of women caring for another adult say they have the greatest responsibility, up from 44% last year. These domestic responsibilities have also impacted mental health, as women with the most household responsibilities are less likely to report good mental health. Flexibility and work-life balance are pivotal for employee retention. Many women want to leave their jobs due to poor work-life balance and lack of flexibility. Moreover, the reasons for leaving include low pay, poor work-life balance, and lack of flexibility.

2. Unfortunately, fewer women feel supported by their employers in managing their work and personal responsibilities. Hybrid work experiences are improving, but some women have had to adjust their work and personal lives due to return-to-office policies. This year, women's experiences of hybrid working have shown improvement in areas such as exclusion, predictability, and flexibility. However, a quarter of the women asked to return to the office report that the requirement has had a negative impact on their mental health, and the same proportion say it has reduced their productivity. It has been reported that women feel unsafe in the workplace and that non-inclusive behaviors continue Many women are concerned about their personal safety at work or while travelling for work. Although the number of women reporting non-inclusive behaviors like harassment or microaggressions has decreased, 43% still say they have experienced these behaviors in the past year. Unfortunately, many of these incidents often go unreported, with more than a third of women who have experienced sexual harassment and over 40% who have experienced microaggressions choosing not to report them. Gender Equality Leaders are still rare The survey identifies a small number of organizations as Gender Equality Leaders—as per the Women at Work 2024 survey, only 6% of women work for these organizations. Women working for Gender Equality Leaders feel safer, are more comfortable discussing their mental health at work, can work flexibly without affecting their career, and report higher loyalty, productivity, and motivation levels. They are also more optimistic about their career prospects and less likely to experience inappropriate behaviors or comments from senior leaders.