पत्रिका जगत Positive Journalism
Jaipur, March 12, 2018: Almost 62% of young women find there is a disconnect between the job they hold and the one they imagined, says an ICICI Lombard focused survey on the physical and mental health of working women through their career span.
The survey spans the age group of 22 – 55 years, covering aspects like migrating for work, resuming work post maternity, women at work facing menopause etc. The survey aims to understand and accelerate issues faced by working women at the workplace.
Workplace environment in general:
Gender equality at the workplace has become a byword in the corporate sector. However, findings say otherwise. Respondents to ICICI Lombard’s survey have brought forth the fact that 53% of the working women believe their workplaces are still male dominated. Of this, 46% belong to the age group of 22-33 yrs, followed by 35% group from the age group of 34-44 years. Women in the telecom and manufacturing sector experienced more instances of gender discrimination than any other sector. Engagement levels, job assignments, promotions and job profiles are the four areas where women mainly suffer due to gender discrimination. The survey statistics shows that as women grow old (45-55 years), the kind of job assigned to them are more inclined towards male preference, whereas the younger categories–22-33 yrs, and 33-44 yrs, think promotions get impacted in a male-dominated workplace.
Another interesting facet of the survey was in that 62% of the respondents believed that recognition at par with male counterparts notwithstanding, there is a gap when it comes to remuneration. This was found to be more prevalent in the manufacturing and financial sector. The imbalance thus created put extra pressure on women leading into ‘increasing frustration levels (66%)’, ‘working beyond their capacity to prove their mettle (64%) and ‘stress due to high expectations (62%)’.
The survey also revealed that 58% of the women find a huge gap in the job that they imagined against what they are actually performing. This difference is more amongst the age band of 22-33 (62%) and more prevalent in the jobs in services, technology and education sectors. At workplace, women are more worried of their deteriorating health (48%) than office politics (15%).
Workplace abuse was an aspect faced more by older women (45-55 yrs), with a majority of them reporting this to HR (43%), but a significant lot (32%) also quitting on account of this.
Women Migrating for Work:
While migration for work has proved to be a positive change for 97% of working women, enhancing self-confidence and financial independence, cultural shock is a major challenge. Also, women migrating post 30 are more prone to stress as it is mentally difficult to accommodate in formal office environment.
Workplace after Maternity:
31% of women received proper support from their workplace and faced no difficulties resuming work after maternity. However 62% have had certain apprehensions and difficulties such as concentration issues and have found it strenuous to achieve a work life balance. The survey disclosed a hard hitting fact that while 73% organizations provide maternity cover/insurance, none of the organizations provide a resting/feeding area for new moms.
Women at Work during Menopause:
Respondents to the survey revealed the fact that depression is a common emotion impacting 89% of working women, leading 42% of them to take leave once a month. In order to relieve that stress, 49% of the women engaged in activities like yoga, while others preferred morning/evening walks and zumba. However, gym and outdoor sports are almost negligible.
Commenting on the survey findings, Sanjay Datta, Chief – Underwriting, Claims, Reinsurance and Actuarial, ICICI Lombard General Insurance, said, “At ICICI Lombard, we believe in creating awareness around health and wellness for all our employees. With this survey, we specifically wanted to focus on working women, given the kind of stress that they go through both physically and mentally. The survey has helped us understand issues that women face in a professional environment and we are working proactively to building a more inclusive workspace based on these insights. The survey will also help us align our efforts with this year’s Women’s Day theme of #BalanceforBetter and we hope to create an ecosystem that allows our women colleagues to achieve a balance to make their lives better. ”
The study involved online quantitative interviews with 1500 working women, across five locations including metro and non-metro cities.
