Attrition Rate Much Higher among Female Professionals; here's How We Can Fix It

Attrition Rate Much Higher among Female Professionals; here's How We Can Fix It

By: WE Staff

As per the 'The Great Resignation,' the overall employee attrition was nine percent, while the attrition rate among female professionals was 13 percent.The article talks about the reason for the higher attrition rate among female employees and also about the measures to be taken to retain female employees.

Since the pandemic, India has increased salaries by double digits due to the increasing demand for skilled workers. Despite the rise, the attrition rate is still 20.3%, which is just slightly lower than the 21% of last year, according to research.

Despite the increases, the attrition rate is still 20.3%, which is just slightly lower than the 21% of last year, according to research.

The most recent Salary Increase Survey in India analysed data from 1,300 organisations in more than 40 different categories. It concluded that over the past two years, India's attrition rate has increased by more than seven percent.

In a separate study, JobsForHer'sDivHERsity Report discovered that in 2021, more women than males had to quit the workforce. As per the 'The Great Resignation,' the general attrition rate among employees was 9%, while the attrition rate among female professionals was 13%.

E-commerce, FMCG, hi-tech positions, and startups were the industries most impacted by attrition while having the biggest post-pandemic wage increases. Despite the fact that there is a great need for workers in these fields, there is also a surge of resignations.

The majority of the attrition rate is due to voluntary resignation, which occurs when an individual leaves their position voluntarily, accounting for 17.5% of the attrition proportion. In 2023, attrition is likely to remain in the double digits.

According to the survey, earnings in India are predicted to rise by 10.4% in 2023, which is slightly more than the 9.9% increase predicted in February. This is in contrast to a 10.6% increase that has already occurred in 2022.

Why Women Professionals have a Higher Attrition Rate

Nearly half of women report feeling burned out, and nearly 56% of women say their stress levels are higher than they were a year ago, according to Deloitte's "Women@Work 2022: A Global Outlook" survey. The study's findings are based on opinions of 5,000 women who were polled between November 2021 and February 2022 in 10 different nations, including 500 in India.

Nearly 40% of women who are actively seeking for a new workplace report burnout as the primary cause, making it the top factor luring them away from their current employers. Only 9% of those polled said they planned to stay with their present employer for more than five years, and more than half of those polled said they wanted to change jobs within the next two years.

The survey also showed that although few of these behaviours are reported to employers, the majority of respondents still encounter non-inclusive behaviours at work. LGBT+ women, those in lower management or non-managerial posts, and women in ethnic minority groups in their jurisdictions are more likely to experience these behaviours, it was stated. However, non-inclusive behaviours affect the majority of respondents across all examined geographies, it was noted.

According to the report, many people are less hopeful about their employment prospects than they were 12 months ago. The research describes the state of female workers in the ecosystem today and how business leaders are contributing to a significant improvement. Based on information gathered from more than 300 firms that took part in the DivHERsity Awards survey, 73% of major enterprises and 27% of SMEs and startups from a range of industries, including IT, BFSI, FMCG, and pharma, engaged in the study.

The report's release coincided with corporate India's plans to rethink workplaces for women in India through HerRising, which attracted more than 3000 women and more than 50 leading firms seeking to hire individuals, according to the report.

Highlighting the need for better workplaces for women, ChellaPandianPitchai, AVP, Global Head, Talent, Learning, Leadership Development, Culture & DEI, Biocon Biologics Limited said, “We need to address the bias across the pyramid - bottom, middle and top. To mark this change we should focus on our mindset, environment and opportunities. To begin with, mindset is the biggest change we need to make. Second is the environment which has infrastructure that supports women professionals. Third is culture fit opportunities.”

Speaking on the findings of the report, NehaBagaria, CEO and Founder of JobsForHer said, “It is heartening to see several organisations taking a step in the right direction to make the workplace more women-friendly. We are hopeful that this trend will enable and encourage more women returnees, women in tech and women in leadership to enter the workforce and climb the professional ladder, while ensuring gender parity across all levels.”

DivHERsity Policies to Retain More Women in the Workforce

Maternal Leave

10% of all businesses (big enterprises, startups, and SMEs) responding to the DivHERsity Awards Survey stated that they provide more than 6 months of maternity leave.

The fact that majority of these businesses (-18%) gave longer maternity leave than the required 6 months is noteworthy in this case. This shows that large businesses are more proactive in implementing policies that support women during their maternity leave than SMES (-7%) or startups (-2%).

So, we also investigated the paternity leave policies of other businesses. In the DivHERsity Awards survey, nearly half of all businesses (-47%) either do not give paternity leave at all or did not respond.

Policies for Flexible Work

In an effort to recruit and keep female talent, companies have also shown that they are implementing flexible work practises. More than half of the businesses polled provide sabbatical leave policies, work from home options, or flexible work schedules.

Programmes for returning Women

Both small and large businesses in India have implemented a number of best practises to increase the number of women they hire, especially those who are making a comeback following a career sabbatical. A total of 48 percent of the companies surveyed are actively seeking out more women who have recently returned to the workforce, and 38 percent are launching special programmes to hire more of them.

Father's Day Leave

While extending the duration of maternity leave is a great starting step, it's also important to stress that one of the best ways to achieve a gender balanced workforce is to introduce family-friendly policies that do not merely benefit women.