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53 per cent of Indian working women faced higher levels of stress in 2022-23 (FY23) as compared to FY22, higher than their global counterparts, a report released by Deloitte India said. Globally, 51 per cent of women faced higher stress.
According to the Women @ Work: A Global Outlook report released on Thursday, 31 per cent of Indian working women said they felt burnt out. The global average of women feeling burnt out was 28 per cent.
However, this was significantly lower than 46 per cent of women feeling burnt out in FY22.
It also added that fewer women in India (38 per cent) get adequate mental health support from their employers as compared to the global average (40 per cent).
The report was based on a survey of 5,000 women across ten countries, including 500 in India, across age groups, employment status, sectors, and seniority.
In line with the global trends, Indian women faced lower non-inclusive behaviours in FY23 as compared to FY22. These include being interrupted in meetings, being excluded from informal conversations, and having someone take credit for their work, among other things.
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However, the incidents were still very high. The report showed that 44 per cent of Indian working women reported experiencing harassment or microaggressions in the workplace over the past year. This was 59 per cent in FY22.
According to the report, women also feel a higher responsibility for childcare and other domestic tasks in India. This also translates into lower financial independence. Seven in every ten women surveyed in India said that their partner is the primary earner in the household.
On the brighter side, the report highlighted that younger women are becoming more comfortable talking about mental health in the workplace.
Saraswathi Kasturirangan, chief happiness officer, Deloitte India, said, "It's heartening to see younger generations take charge in having conversations that have traditionally been a taboo."
"While top-down interventions and role-model behaviour are important to support mental health, organisations should leverage this generation to establish strong peer-to-peer networks of mental health champions. The hope is that this cohort will hold on to their openness and progress towards being understanding, humane leaders of the future," she added.
