Women in India are looking for growth opportunities and feel ready to take on more responsibility within the company – reveals a global study conducted by HP Inc. The study also reveals interesting insights around employee workplace perceptions, retention factors, promotion behavior, and ways to advance more women into leadership positions. The study helps organizations including HP better understand employees’ needs and how they can support women and help them grow in challenging times. HP has a rich legacy in advocating diversity, equity and inclusion and recently committed to reaching 50/50 gender quality in HP leadership by 2030.
Women in India lead the world in applying and getting promotions
Among the countries fielded, the top country with women who applied for a promotion was India (90%), which was more than men (67%). Among those who applied, 92% women respondents in India confirmed receiving a promotion last year as compared to just 40% and 63% respondents from US & UK respectively in the same period. Interestingly, Indian women also surpassed their male counterparts with only 68% men receiving promotions.
The survey also suggests that Indian respondents want a promotion not only for a higher salary but also to gain more influence in their company by taking on more responsibility (38%) and being part of larger decisions that impact the company (37%).
Indian employees believe companies are doing more to combat discrimination than before
The survey also delves into efforts undertaken by companies in combating discrimination towards gender in the workplace. Findings reveal that 71% of Indian women respondents strongly feel that companies have been more proactive in combatting gender discrimination than before.
65% Indian employees feel that companies are making more efforts in combating discrimination towards gender in the workplace than in the past
Ketan Patel, Managing Director – HP India Market said, “At HP, we believe in giving equal growth opportunities to all our employees. HP aspires to be the employer of choice – and we are taking active steps to support women and help them advance in their careers. The company aims to achieve 50/50 gender equality in HP leadership by 2030. We are happy to see -how more women are aspiring to take on leadership positions in India, coupled with the efforts made by corporations to create an inclusive environment that enables everyone to do their best work”.
Hybrid Work Model appeals most to the Indian GenZ and Millennials
Many employees believe that a hybrid work model is most beneficial for women possibly because it allows for both in-person time and flexibility. – In the UK, Gen Z (46%) are likely to believe that an in-person work model is most beneficial, while in India, Gen Z (41%) and Millennials (36%) prefer hybrid as the most suitable work model.
Indian talent values greater work flexibility at the workplace
Employees planning to stay at their company cite work-life balance as a top reason for staying. The second reason to stay is potential career growth to stay in a company in India and Mexico. In India, 44% employees feel they still have opportunities to grow in their company.
For those who plan to leave, 1 in 3 employees in India desires a better work-life balance, more autonomy, and higher salaries are the top reasons. While most global counterparts are willing to offer higher wages for employee retention, 53% of Indian employees prefer greater work flexibility over higher salaries to retain them. They prefer more autonomy on deciding on how, when, and where they work.
HP in India has been driving various initiatives to provide greater opportunities to its women workforce. In 2017, HP launched the ‘Disha’ initiative to increase the readiness of HP India’s women talent through a structured six-month blended learning program. The initiative builds the leadership pipeline for HP and addresses the complex social challenge of ‘women-leader’ representation in the Corporate Sector.
The Disha program at HP India has completed 5 successful cohorts (years 2017 to 2021) with 169 graduates. 57% of Disha graduates have experienced a role change, laterally or vertically since its inception in 2017. Disha represents HP India’s belief that there is a positive correlation between the representation of women in leadership positions and business performance.
Methodology
HP partnered with Morning Consult, a global decision intelligence company delivering insights and custom market research, to field this survey. It was conducted between January 24 and February 7, 2022, among a sample of over 6200 adults in the US (n=2,209), Canada (n=1,001), UK (n=1,000), Mexico (n=1,001) and India* (n=1,000). The interviews were conducted online, and the data was weighted based on gender, educational attainment, age, race (where applicable), and region. Results from the full survey have a margin of error of plus or minus 2 to 3 percentage points.
*Top box acquiescence is common in India based on prior Morning Consult surveys. Acquiescence bias means the tendency for respondents to agree with research statements.
