23% of salaried women in India perceive gender pay gap at workplace: Survey

Twenty-three per cent of salaried women perceive an agender-based pay gap while 16 per cent perceived gender bias at the workplace in India, a survey by rating agency Crisil and DBS Bank India has found. 

While salary and career advancement ranked as the two biggest factors when selecting a job for 69 per cent of salaried women, 42 per cent of self-employed women prioritised independence and flexible working hours. Interestingly, remote working is not a high priority among salaried women, with only 3 per cent considering it essential. For self-employed women, focusing on wealth building and identifying a specific market need or opportunity for starting a business ranked as other top parameters, in addition to their independence and flexible hours, noted the survey.

The report is based on a survey of over 800 salaried and self-employed women across 10 cities in India. 

 

Semi-affluent women, earning between Rs 10 to 25 lakhs annually, and affluent women, with salaries ranging from Rs 41 to 55 lakh per year, have varying perspectives on the gender pay gap. Affluent women reported a higher perception of the gender pay gap at 30%, while this stood at 18 per cent among semi-affluent women. A similar trend was seen with the perception of gender bias at the workplace with 30 per cent of affluent women asserting that they had experienced it, significantly higher than the 12% of women in the semi-affluent cohort who had perceived the same bias.

The survey found that 42 per cent of salaried women in metros face challenges while negotiating salaries. However, the experiences differ between the eastern and western parts of India. In Kolkata, 96 per cent of salaried women do not face a challenge in negotiating their pay, while only 33 per cent in Ahmedabad feel the same.  In Chennai, 77 per cent of women do not face challenges when negotiating salaries, compared to 41 per cent in Hyderabad.

Among salaried women, those who are unmarried show a greater appreciation for mentorship and career development opportunities compared to their married counterparts. Specifically, 26% of unmarried women express appreciation for such programs, compared to 16% of married women. 

in Kolkata, 46% of salaried women consider mentorship and career development programs to be the most valuable, surpassing the national average of 19%. Similarly, in Delhi, 33% of salaried women value childcare support facilities offered by organisations, compared to the national average of 11%. Among women in Chennai, 32% accord the most importance to extended maternity benefits, surpassing the national average of 19%. 

These findings also highlight the need for organisations to implement family-friendly policies that improve work-life harmony for women with caregiving responsibilities. In Pune, 35% of salaried women consider sabbatical policies to be the most valuable, significantly higher than the national average of 5%.

The study reveals that female earners in India’s metros prioritise health despite their busy schedules, with 66% undergoing comprehensive health check-ups in the past year.

Only 32% dine out or order food more than once a week, while just 24% of women spend more than four hours daily on non-office screen time. 32% of married women took 3-5 leisure trips in the past year, which is twice as many as their unmarried counterparts, challenging the myth that married women go for fewer leisure trips than unmarried women. Nearly half of the surveyed women (47%) were generous spenders, who spend more than 70% of their income. The survey findings further reveal that 39% of women from this segment have high credit card spends in discretionary categories namely travel and shopping, compared to the pan-India average of 33%.

Women over 45 go on more leisure trips than younger folk

In the salaried and self-employed categories, women aged 45 and over took more leisure trips than their younger counterparts. Among salaried women, 60% of those aged 45 and over and 43% of those aged 25-35 took more than three leisure trips. Similarly, among self-employed women, 40% of those aged 25-35 took more than three leisure trips, compared with 46% of those aged 45 and over. As women transition into the 36-45 age group, both work and home responsibilities escalate significantly. Women in this age bracket tend to take fewer leisure trips, with the frequency of trips reaching its peak among those aged 45 and above.

Percentage of women across age cohorts who have taken more than three leisure trips in the past year

After Kolkata, Mumbai women spend the most on leisure travel

Geographic variations are evident in the leisure trips taken by generous spenders. In the south, 47% of such women in Bengaluru have taken more than three leisure trips in the past year, compared with 15% in Hyderabad. In the north, 38% of the generous spenders in Delhi have taken more than three leisure trips. In the west, 50% of the generous spenders in Mumbai have taken more than three leisure trips, compared with 30% in Ahmedabad. In the east, 55% of the generous spenders in Kolkata have taken more than three leisure trips.