Women Feel Greater Pay Disparity as They Rise Up The Salary Ladder: Naukri Report

Women professionals at the higher levels of salary feel a greater pay disparity compared to women who are paid comparatively less, shows a report by job search platform Naukri.

According to the report, 26% women earning between Rs 50 LPA and Rs 1 crore perceive a pay disparity based on gender, compared to 11% women earning Rs 2-5 LPA.

Also, about 25% women professionals say that equal pay is still a distant dream for them regardless of their industry and experience level.

Interestingly, about 28% women working in the BFSI sector feel pay disparity, followed by women in FMCG (27%) and IT (24%). Sectors like BFSI and IT are considered one of the highest paying-sector in India.

Women working in Mumbai feel the most pay disparity (28% women), followed by women in Bengaluru (27%) and Delhi (24%).

The report is based on the responses from more than 70,000 female professionals across over 50 cities.

Contrary to common perception, it is not the pay parity that women seek from their workplace but a supportive menstrual leave policy tops the list. About 34% of the surveyed women said they prioritise menstrual leave policies over other things at the workplace. For about 50% of early-career professionals (0-3 years), menstrual leave is a non-negotiable condition, with Bengaluru (20%) and Mumbai (13%) leading this demand, the report shows.

However, 75% women professionals say their workplaces don’t support menstrual leave policies.

A day before Women’s Day, construction and engineering firm Larsen & Toubro had announced a one-day menstrual leave policy for its 5,000 female employees. New-age companies like Zomato and Swiggy already have such policies for their female workforce.   

Chairman and Managing Director of L&T S N Subrahmanyan had recently advocated for a 90-hour workweek sparking debate about work-life balance.

The Naukri report also highlights the challenges that women face in balancing personal and professional life. Over 66% women feel encouraged to pursue leadership roles, the report says, but 44% fear of facing work-life imbalance while 35% say they struggle with “unclear or biased promotions”.

The report says that the fear of work-life imbalance peaks among women with 5-10 years of experience (45%), a time period when they also have to balance family responsibilities.

Also about half of the women professional feel that flexible work aligns well with their work-life balance.

According to the report, about 60% women want a 50:50 leadership representation in order to achieve gender equity at the workplace.

In terms of expectations from their male colleagues, about 82% of early careers female professionals (0-5 years) seek respectful mentorship without bias. At the higher rungs (women with over 10 years of experience), 86% want their male allies to advocate for their leadership advancement.

According to the Periodic Labour Force Survey 2023-24, the worker population ratio for women was 40.3% in 2023-24, while the labour force participation rate stood at 41.7% in the same period. India targets 70% female workforce participation by 2047.