Nearly two in every three women in the informal sector (63 percent) claim that they are ready to compromise on higher salaries in lieu of health benefits and a formal agreement, a new study by Quess Corp has found.
According to the study that is underway, more than half of informal female employees (56 percent) prioritise non-monetary aspects such as building a career, contributing to the community, learning new skills, and supporting their passions and interests.
The study reflects the growing aspirational shift in the mindset of women representatives in the informal workforce, which is now more career-oriented and not just limited to livelihood. In fact, from an informal employee’s perspective, women’s aspiration to ‘build a career’ via a job (18 percent) is higher than that of men (13 percent), the report said.
According to Quess, industry reports such as that from FSG have found that among working-age urban Indian women, 83 percent come from households with low income and that today, 88 percent of women believe one can work outside the house after having a child, and 52 percent of women believe that mothers with children under the age of six can work outside of the home.
Reflecting on sector-wise distribution, Quess says industries such as media and entertainment (46 percent share), auto and auto comm (42 percent share), FMCG/FMCD (27 percent share), ecom/logistics (27 percent share), IT/ITES/education (22 percent share) hold the highest share of women in the workforce.
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The report also claims that salary trends indicate that female employees earn a higher pay than their male counterparts across key industries such as retail, FMCG, EMPI, manufacturing, and real estate. As per contract hiring trends, a large number of women are employed in roles ranging from executives, junior relationship officers, product consultants, trainees, CCAs, and sales sssociates, it said.
Lohit Bhatia, President, Workforce Management, Quess Corp Limited said, “Today, one in every three women from the informal economy (33 percent) believe that it is a lack of education that prevents them from securing a formal job, and more than half (53 percent) believe that they need a friend or a contact inside a company to secure a formal contract.”
He stressed on the need to acknowledge the value and contribution of women to India’s informal formal economy, while simultaneously acknowledging that their requirements have now evolved. India Inc. must invest in training and skill development for better employability of women, helping them find employment opportunities, and offer social security benefits – as opposed to simply salary considerations – to a wider employable population, he added.
Karnataka holds one of the largest female penetration ratios across Quess employment with 25 percent women, which may be on account of several government initiatives that promote women's participation. Maharashtra (22 percent), Tamil Nadu (23 percent), and Telangana (25 percent) also hold a notable share of female associates, the report says.
(Edited by : Abhishek Jha)
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