Maternity breaks cost Indian women heavily: 45% see over 20% gender pay gap

Nearly 45% of Indian professionals believe the gender pay gap exceeds 20%, with maternity breaks (51%) and workplace bias (27%) cited as the primary causes, according to a new survey

Almost one in two professionals in India (45%) believes that the country faces a gender pay gap of over 20%, driven largely by maternity-related career breaks and workplace bias, according to a new report released on Thursday by Naukri.com.

 

The survey, conducted among more than 20,000 professionals across 80 industries and eight cities, found that 51% of respondents identified maternity breaks as the single biggest cause of unequal pay, while 27% pointed to workplace bias and perceptions of women at work as the primary factor.

 

The belief in maternity-related career setbacks was strongest among employees in IT (56%), pharma (55%), and automobile (53%) sectors. The impact was particularly felt by professionals with 5–10 years (54%) and 10–15 years (53%) of experience—career stages that most commonly coincide with maternity breaks.

 

 

When asked which industries had the widest pay disparities, half of all respondents flagged IT as the worst performer (50%), far outpacing real estate (21%), FMCG (18%), and banking (12%).

 

Geographically, India’s technology hubs—Hyderabad (59%) and Bengaluru (58%)—voiced the highest concerns about pay inequities in IT, the report added.

 

Sectoral breakdowns revealed stark contrasts. While industries such as aviation (57%), education (52%), and IT (50%) reflected sharper perceptions of gender pay inequality, traditional sectors painted a more optimistic picture. In oil & gas, more than one in four respondents said the gap was negligible (0–5%), suggesting lower levels of disparity.

 

The impact of career breaks is especially evident among professionals in the 5-10 years (54 per cent) and 10-15 years (53 per cent) experience brackets, life stages when maternity breaks are most common, added the report.  The findings highlight not only the persistence of pay inequity but also the complex interplay between career progression, workplace culture, and industry norms.  With inputs from PTI