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According to a study conducted by Aon India, 90% of women working in Indian companies are willing to invest more time, volunteer for challenging projects and have excellent skills to advance their careers. However, 42% of women surveyed said they had faced bias or implicit bias at work, and 37% said they had experienced insensitive behavior. Additionally, 6 percent of women surveyed (over 1,400) said they had been sexually harassed at least once, but less than half officially reported the incident to their employer. Working mothers also have their own challenges, with 75% saying they faced career issues one to two years after taking maternity leave, and nearly 40% saying maternity leave had a negative impact on their salary role, they responded that it has changed. What they didn't like. The Women's Voices 2024 Survey, conducted by Aon, a British-American professional services and management consulting company, is the first and largest survey of its kind in India and examines the key workplace issues of nearly 24,000 working women from more than 560 companies. and the reality of an inclusive workplace. Additionally, 34 percent of women in senior management and leadership positions say they face discrimination, compared to 17 percent of women in entry-level positions, and as women advance in their careers, this suggests that bias is increasing.

The study found that women who had experienced bias were 3.5 times more likely to find certain aspects of their experience in an organization unfair, compared to 21 percent who said they left their job in less than a year because of bias. Nitin Sethi, Executive Director, Aons India Talent Solutions, said: "Stigma in the workplace hinders companies' efforts to attract and retain skilled and committed women in the workforce." This is a fact that cannot be ignored. Creating an inclusive workplace culture should be a top priority for CEOs. Company decision-makers must take immediate action to address systemic bias through comprehensive policies and practices on fair pay, career advancement, and maternity leave. But more importantly, leaders must model the right behavior and drive accountability for the pervasive culture that drives day-to-day behavior in their teams and organizations,” said Nitin Sethi, CEO, Aon India Talent Solutions.

This study also showed that the presence of women in leadership positions has a positive impact on female employees in an organization. 53% of women who have a visible female leader in their company say they feel confident in their professional development and 52% say it has a positive impact on their culture, while 41% use female leaders as role models look at those they know The presence of women leaders also reduced perceptions of inequality in three key HR processes, including performance appraisals, promotions and compensation. Addressing gender issues is critical for Indian companies to address talent shortages and manage an uncertain business environment in the workplace and use data-driven insights to remove barriers to advancement and support women employees at different stages of their lives Diversity, equity and inclusion, by ensuring we make informed decisions to redesign policies to support our employees. said study director Shilpa Khanna.