The Opportunity Index 2021 highlights the difference in perception of available opportunities in the market for men and women in India.

LinkedIn Opportunity Index 2021

• The report seeks to understand how people perceive opportunities and the barriers that stand in the way of achieving them.
• This year’s report dives deep to understand how women perceive opportunities, and how the gender gap is further slowing down career progress for working women in India amid the pandemic.

LinkedIn is an American business and employment-oriented online service that operates via websites and mobile apps. Launched on May 5, 2003, the platform is mainly used for professional networking and allows job seekers to post their CVs and employers to post jobs

Highlights of the report

India’s working women still face the strongest gender bias across Asia Pacific countries.

• Covid impact: Nine in 10 (89%) women state they were negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• General Bias: 1 in 5 (22%) working women in India said their company’s exhibit a ‘favourable bias’ towards men at work when compared to the regional average of 16%.
• Work opportunity: While 37% of India’s working women say they get fewer opportunities than men, only 25% of men agree with this.
• Pay: This disparity in perception is also seen in conversations about equal pay, as more women (37%) say they get less pay than men, while only 21% of men share this sentiment.
• Promotion: In India, more than 4 in 5 working women (85%) claim to have missed out on a raise, promotion, or work offer because of their gender, compared to the regional average of 60%.
• Family burden: Lack of time and family care stop 7 in 10 Indian women from progressing in their careers.
• Maternity: Consumer sentiment from the report shows that more than 7 in 10 working women (71%) and working mothers (77%) feel that managing familial responsibilities often come in their way of career development.

Scope for equality

• The report shows that even though 66% of people in India feel that gender equality has improved compared to their parents’ age.
• In India, the top three job opportunities sought by both men and women are job security, a job that they love, and a good work-life balance.
• But despite having similar goals, more women (63%) think a person’s gender is important to get ahead in life when compared to men (54%).

Barriers faced by Indian women

• Lack of required professional skills and a lack of guidance through networks and connections are also some of the other barriers that get in the way of career development for working women in India.

What next?

• Organisations should step up to provide robust maternity policies and flexibility programs.
• Reduced and flexible schedules, more sabbaticals, and new opportunities to upskill and learn are critical offerings that can help organizations attract, hire, and retain more female talent.

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