It's not just about climbing the corporate ladder—it's about reshaping it. It's not just about breaking ceilings but about building better floors to stand firm on. A report by Naukri.com highlights that while 66% of women feel encouraged to pursue leadership, 44% fear work-life imbalance.
Professionals with 5–10 years of experience, constituting 45% of the surveyed women, worry about managing personal and professional responsibilities.
The report, released a couple of days before the International Women's Day 2025, surveyed over 70,000 women professionals across more than 50 cities on various aspects of their corporate lives. Here are the key takeaways.
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Menstrual Leaves
Around 34% of women professionals surveyed in the Naukri.com report voted for menstrual leave as their number one workplace policy request, followed by childcare support. The demand is particularly non-negotiable among early-career professionals, with major cities like Bengaluru and Mumbai leading the pack.
While new-age companies like Swiggy Ltd. and Zomato Ltd. have pioneered menstrual leave policies, 75% of women professionals report that their workplaces still don't support it. In a first among major Indian corporate house, Larsen & Toubro on Thursday announced a one-day paid menstrual leave for women employees.
Closing The Gap
The age-old fight for pay parity continues. The report identifies that the gender pay gap becomes more prominent at higher salary levels, with 26% of women earning over Rs 50 lakh per annum perceive pay inequity, compared to 11% at the Rs 2–5 lakh per annum level.
Mumbai tops the list of cities with the widest gaps, followed by Delhi and Bengaluru, as per the report. In India, nearly one in every four women see equal pay as an unattainable goal, it added.
Diversity And Inclusion
Women professionals experience the workplace not just as women, but through the lens of their ethnicity, languages and identities. One in every three women surveyed in the report cited the alleged bias in hiring and promotions as their biggest challenge. Other challenges include a lack of leadership opportunities and limited mentorship.
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