The latest consumer research based on 2,266 respondents in India was to uncover the challenges faced by women at work, and spotlight opportunities for employers to help break biases that are holding women back. The research finds that poor employer sentiment towards flexible working and career breaks is holding women back from asking for greater flexibility and re-entering the workforce. In fact, India’s working women are quitting or considering quitting their jobs in 2022 as pay cuts, bias, and exclusion become their penalties for working flexibly.

The LinkedIn’s research shows that following the impact of the pandemic, 8 in 10 (83%) of working women have realised they want to work more flexibly. In fact the survey finds that 72% of working women are rejecting job roles that don’t allow them to work flexibly, while 70% have already quit or considered quitting their jobs because they weren’t offered the right flexible policies.

When asked about the benefits of flexible working, around 2 in 5 (43%) women said it improves their work-life balance and helps them progress their careers, while 1 in 3 (34%) said it improves their mental health and 33% said increases their likelihood of staying in their current jobs. But due to strong employer bias, India’s working women are paying heavy penalties to work flexibly. 9 in 10 (88%) working women had to take a pay cut to work flexibly, 2 in 5 (37%) had their flexible working request denied, and 1 in 4 (27%) struggled to convince their bosses to accept their request.

This has made women reluctant towards asking for greater flexibility because they fear exclusion, being held back from promotions, working overtime, taking pay cuts, and being treated unfavourably by their superiors. Given the impending guilt and stigma around flexible policies, 1 in every 3 working women in India shies away from telling their clients (34%), colleagues (35%), and friends (33%) that they work flexibly. As working women continue to juggle between personal commitments and career progress within rigid schedules, 4 in every 5 (78%) working women in India are taking career breaks to improve their well-being, plan career changes, and boost their confidence at work.

With 9 in 10 working women using their time off to learn new hard and soft skills, career breaks are helping women to upskill and boost their employability in today’s tight job market. Flexible working is the No. 1 priority today for all professionals, especially for working women. In fact, a research finds that India is at the brink of a ‘flexidus’ with 7 out of 10 working women quitting or considering quitting their jobs due to lack of flexibility. This is a warning sign for companies and recruiters to remove the stigma surrounding the need for flexibility and career breaks, and introduce stronger flexibility policies if they don’t want to lose top talent.