56% of India Inc. plans to hire working mothers in 2011, against global average of 36%
With accelerating economy and brightening of employment prospects, 56% of Indian companies are looking to recruit working mothers in 2011. In fact, research from workplace solutions provider, Regus points out that Indian firms are far more likely to hire returning mothers compared to their global counterparts.
The Regus survey, in which over 10,000 business respondents from across the globe were interviewed during August and September 2010, found that globally 36% of companies expect to hire working mothers in 2011. This reflects a downward trend in sentiment towards hiring working mums, the same research last found that globally 44% of companies had expressed a desire to hire returning mothers.
India, where 43% of companies plan to add staff overall, counters this trend with fully 56% of firms declaring they plan to hire more working mothers. This figure is down, however, on 64% a year ago.
The survey forms the basis of a Regus report entitled ‘Mother’s Day? A study of trends in hiring working mothers across the globe’, which reveals residual concerns amongst a minority of employers, who still fear that working mothers may show less commitment and flexibility than other employees (37%), leave shortly after training to have another child (33%) or have out-dated skills (24%). In India employers were particularly concerned about working mums’ skills being out-of-date (45%) and about them taking time off to have another child (51%).
On the positive side, a majority of businesses now value returning mothers, with 72% declaring they believe companies that ignore part-time returning mothers are missing out on a significant and valuable part of the employment pool. In addition, fully 56% regard working mums as offering skills that are difficult to find in the current market; and 57% declare that they value returning mothers because they offer experience and skills without demanding top salaries. In India, the percentage of those who valued working mothers because of this was higher than the global average (64%), perhaps indicating that there is still a lot of work to be done to reach salary equality between working mothers and their colleagues.
Mr. Madhusudan Thakur, Country-Head, Regus-India comments, “It is not surprising to see that, in the global context, prejudiced attitudes come back into play with economic belt-tightening and some businesses are evidently still guilty of applying old-fashioned misgivings to the contemporary work environment. Happily, many Indian companies are approaching the issue in a more enlightened manner than many of their peers. Nonetheless, there is still some concern that family commitments may hinder working mothers from giving their job full attention and commitment.
Savvy businesses’ are already using flexible work arrangement to integrate these valuable assets, providing a family friendly and at the same time more productive work environment simply by allowing employees to work alternative hours or closer to home. Recognising that the needs of working mums are not exceptional and extending them to all workers will provide productivity and overheads reduction benefits as well as making for more motivated staff.”
Methodology
Over 10,000 business respondents from the Regus global contacts database were interviewed during August and September 2010. The Regus global contacts database of over 1 million business-people worldwide is highly representative of senior managers and owners in businesses across the globe. Respondents were asked about their intentions to hire working mothers and about their role in the workplace. The research was managed and administered by the independent organisation, MarketingUK.
