As India is progressing towards becoming an economic superpower, women are dropping out of the workforce in record numbers. This is spread across all sections of the society – urban and rural, rich and poor. It may be attributed to personal factors related to the employee like family obligations, motherhood, pursuing higher education, and many more.
But are there more reasons to indicate why companies cannot retain women in the workforce?
“Indian women face the strongest gender inequality among the Asia Pacific countries, struggling for both equal pay and opportunity. “ – LinkedIn Opportunity Index, 2021.
Trust is an emotion that works both ways and is reciprocal in a workplace. A company must trust their employees and vice versa. But is the trust in the employer from employees of both genders the same?
According to data collected in a 2021 Deloitte study, women tend to trust their employers less than their male counterparts.
It is observed that in the initial stages of a career, both women and men have similar levels of trust in their employers. But as time progresses, women’s trust reduces. Despite introducing women-friendly policies like flexible work schedules, training programs, mental health support, and others, it does not translate into higher trust in the employer.
These very perks and policies are becoming a double-edged sword in a woman’s career and playing to the men’s strengths instead of strengthening women in the workforce.
Shadows of Doubt: Why women are at unease
“Gender discrimination accounts for 98% of the employment gap between men and women in urban India.” – Oxfam’s ‘India Discrimination Report 2022’.
According to a 2023 Women at Work report by Deloitte, 97% of women believe asking for flexible hours could hurt their promotion opportunities. 95% feel that even if they do get flexibility, their workload wouldn’t be adjusted fairly. Presence in the office, spontaneous office conversations, networking, and team leadership take a hit when women opt for flexible work.
When maternity leaves are taken, women face all sorts of biases. They lose out on appraisals and hikes. They are retrenched citing performance or other reasons. Sometimes, companies even let go of women employees when they come to know of their pregnancy.
Companies and colleagues perceive that women tend to make use of such leaves and benefits more than men, might not be consistent in their work and might make them look unreliable.
A study from Dickinson University found that male employees have a lower level of trust when the new employee is a female. This results in male workers not treating women as their equals and employers not handing crucial tasks to them. For every promotion or job switch, a woman has to start from the beginning, trying to prove her best and gain the trust of her employers. This arduous process might result in her losing trust in the team and company.
A recent survey and estimate by Aon, has found that there is a gender pay gap of 28 percent to 30 percent as women climb up the corporate ladder. This gap widens for many reasons like a break in careers, immigrant women, and new mothers (motherhood penalty). When the same talent and productivity are brought to the organisation’s table, lower pay compared to male colleagues erodes the trust a woman places in her employer.
There is evidence from research on “stress reactivity” to suggest that women are more receptive to social clues, including threat signals. For example, women are better at identifying negative emotions like anger or disrespect from facial expressions. Hence, women become more receptive to the invisible threats that they might encounter. This awareness results in them trusting their boss less if the boss hasn’t shared the information.
When women are left behind, despite being talented and hardworking, their trust in the organisation as a whole reduces.
Trust is an essential factor in the running of an organisation. Not only does it create a more efficient and pleasant work environment but is also linked to cooperation, better performance, and improved productivity. When women employees trust their employers, companies stand a greater chance of retaining them, thus saving them time and money.
Create a Positive Trust Equation: What can be done to gain the trust of women employees
Organisations and managers should put in the effort to gain more trust from their women employees. Hiring and performance evaluations can be made more transparent. This would make it clear to employees of both genders to know what milestones they have met and where they lack. This would also reduce doubts in the minds of women employees as to where they got left behind.
An assessment of pay structure and evaluating the pay gaps between employees can make all the difference. One can learn from BCCI, which announced in 2022 that both men and women cricketers would be receiving the same pay for all formats of matches. Why not equate your women employees with other male co-workers in the same way?
Finally, be more consistent. Do what you say you are going to do. Breaking promises is a quick way to break trust too. Communicate openly and respectfully with women employees, just the same way it is done with male employees.
If a gap has been created because a woman employee had to take a sabbatical or maternity leave, then guide them to take up more training programs which would help them cover up the gap in skills. This shows that you value them, even if the career break caused a gap.
Conclusion
Increasing the trust between the organisation and women workers is important for working towards gender diversity. Diversity makes teams more productive and innovative. Studies have shown that women tend to stay with companies longer than men, which can help reduce turnover costs and increase the value of long-term learning. Finally, when women employees are retained, more top talent can be attracted, creating a positive reputation for the company. It’s not only women employees who stand to gain from increasing trust, but every other employee and the organisation as a whole.
