Men are favoured over women by India Inc., according to more than half of the Indian workforce

New research by The Randstad Workmonitor yields some disturbing findings about women's prospects for advancement in the workplace.

61% of the male respondents and 47% of the female respondents feel men are favoured over women even when both are equally qualified for the same job at their workplace. 55% of the overall survey respondents from India echo the same sentiment as opposed to 70% respondents globally.

When asked for preference, 70% men from India mentioned that they prefer a male as direct manager and in reality, a vast majority (87%) actually have one currently. The figures deviate among women: Only 41% of the female respondents prefer a male as direct manager and 50% actually have one currently.

57% of the overall survey respondents from India had a male manager preference and a vast majority (70%) pointed out that currently, they work with a male manager. This was even higher than the global average of 67%, who said they currently work with a male superior.

“Gender diversity may be high on the agenda for India Inc. today, but what I believe is that diversity is not just a goal or a guideline, it is a business imperative. All the corporate and government initiatives are just a start, the real change can happen only when we succeed in addressing the deep-rooted mind sets about the role of women at work,” said Paul Dupuis, MD & CEO, Randstad India.

“It is a proven fact that diverse organizations perform better as this offers an assortment of knowledge and skills. An objective and ethical organizational philosophy that values an individual for the competencies they bring to the table is critical. After all, a country has truly evolved only when diversity in its true spirit is promoted across, with corporates setting the benchmarks, creating a conducive work environment for women. This will definitely help India reap rich rewards of economic growth as well”, he added.

Here are some other key results:

• Despite numerous reports highlighting the continuous gender pay gap, the study also found that a whopping 91% of the respondents from India believed that at their workplace, both men and women in similar roles were rewarded equally. This is much higher than the global average of 79%, who thought so. 88% also felt that both men and women are equally supported when asking for a promotion.

• In heading a team, 93% say that their direct manager plays an important role in setting the team spirit and 90% also agree that their direct manager advocates company culture and sets the example for the rest of the team members.

• On a more positive note, team diversity was highly appreciated by all the employees globally, who were part of this study. 89% of the respondents from India said that they prefer to work in a gender-diverse team, while 86% believed that gender-diverse teams perform and achieve better results than single gender teams. And 61% consider it a good thing that one gender is favoured above the other in order to meet the diversity target. 84% also believed that gender equality increases with the seniority of the job.