A significant 20 per cent of women are reluctant to take time off work stating mental health as the reason, simply because they feel it will adversely impact their chances of progressing in their career! Mind you, we are not talking about women from the underdeveloped countries or women who are uneducated. We are talking about women workers from our very own country, India, along with their counterparts in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, Japan, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
When Deloitte Global surveyed 5,000 women across 10 countries and seven sectors from October 2023 to January 2024, for their Women@Work 2024 report, the improvement it found in the state of women has not been major. Certainly not enviable or overwhelmingly positive!
The issues remain the same. Thirty-one per cent women feel the right to earn an equal wage has deteriorated in their country, while 15 per cent feel it has deteriorated for them personally. The right to live free from violence has deteriorated for 29 per cent women in their country, and 13 per cent personally. The right to the highest attainable standard of mental healthcare has personally decreased for 14 per cent women and 23 per cent say it has decreased in their country.
Mental health remains a huge issue as per the report. Among the women who say they’re uncomfortable disclosing mental health as the reason for being absent from work, 20 per cent are worried that they would lose out on chances for promotion if they do talk about it. Eighteen per cent believe the workplace is not the appropriate place to discuss their mental health. About 16 per cent are concerned that they will not receive enough support at work even if they did discuss their mental health. Fourteen per cent will not discuss the same for fear of discrimination or retaliation. In fact, 12 per cent will remain silent about their mental health because they are afraid they will be laid off!
Worldwide, women remain vulnerable and in fear at their workplaces. One in 10 have had negative experiences on discussing their mental health challenges. It is worrisome that 10 per cent reveal that their company’s work culture does not encourage openness about mental health at all.
What good is all the talk about women’s education, pay parity and placing women in leadership position then? Most women continue to live in fear of adverse career impacts, discrimination or retaliation if they so much as mention their mental-health issues. It isn’t just mental health. There are other factors that need to be tackled to improve the lot of women.
However, not all efforts have been in vain. In 2024, 46 per cent women of the world admit that they are concerned about their personal safety at work or when travelling to/from or for work, while in 2023, this figure was 54 per cent. There has been some improvement there.
In 2024, 45 per cent women are concerned about their job security, a smaller number compared to 53 per cent in 2023. Again, some improvement!
Fifty per cent women in 2024 admit their stress levels are higher than they were a year ago. In 2023, 51 per cent had admitted to the same. In 2024, 43 per cent women feel they get adequate mental health support from their employer, while in 2023 only 40 per cent felt so.
In 2024, 33 per cent women feel comfortable talking about their mental health at work, while in 2023 only 25 per cent were comfortable doing so.
In 2024, 32 per cent women say they have felt/ would feel comfortable disclosing mental health challenges as the reason for their absence, which is a marked improvement from the 25 per cent who were willing to admit this as a reason for absence last year.
Only 23 per cent feel burned out compared to 28 per cent last year.