90% women ready to go extra mile but bias at work hindering progress: Aon report

According to the study, women who faced bias are 3.5 times more likely to perceive aspects of their organisational experience as unfair and 21 percent indicate leaving in less than a year versus only six percent of women who have not faced bias.

Ninety percent of women in corporate jobs in India are prepared to put in extra time, volunteer for challenging projects and upskill to grow in their careers but 42 percent of them face bias or potential bias, a survey by Aon, a professional services firm, has found.

The ‘2024 Voice of Women Study India’ surveyed 24,000 professional women from more than 560 companies and found that 37 percent of them experienced insensitive behaviour at workplace.

"Bias at work is impeding businesses’ efforts to engage and retain skilled and committed women in the workforce. It is a reality that cannot be brushed aside," said Nitin Sethi, chief executive officer of Talent Solutions in India for Aon.

Six percent of the women — more than 1,400 —  said they had faced sexual harassment at least once, yet less than half of them officially reported the incident to their employer.

Working mothers face their own challenges. As many as 75 percent of them said they faced a career setback of one-to-two years after maternity leave and close to 40 percent said going on maternity leave had a negative impact on pay and their role changed to something they did not prefer.

Thirty-four percent of women in senior management and leadership roles indicated facing discrimination compared to 17 percent of women in entry- level roles, highlighting an increase in bias as women advance in their careers.

According to the study, women who faced bias are 3.5 times more likely to perceive aspects of their organisational experience as unfair and 21 percent indicate leaving in less than a year versus only six percent who have not faced bias.

“Building inclusive work culture has to be a CEO-led priority. Business decision makers must urgently take steps to address systemic bias through inclusive policies and practices for equitable pay, career progression and maternity guardrails,” Sethi said.

Women leadership roles boost confidence  

The survey also found that having women in leadership roles had a positive impact on female employees in an organisation.

Fifty-three percent of women who have "visible female leaders" in the organisation reported feeling confident in their career growth, 52 percent said it had a positive impact on their culture and 41 percent saw women leaders as role models.

Presence of female leaders also reduced the perception of unfairness for three key people processes including performance review, promotion and compensation.

Addressing gender issues is critical for businesses in India as they tackle talent shortage and navigate an uncertain business environment, said Shilpa Khanna, associate partner and DEI practice leader of Talent Solutions in India for Aon and the study leader.

"The data clearly highlights that the higher the positive experiences women have at the workplace the greater representation of women in the workforce," she said.

Businesses must deepen their diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) efforts by actively listening to women in the workplace and utilising data-driven insights to ensure they make informed decisions to remove barriers for progress and reframing policies that support women employees at different life stages, she said.