Indian women prefer flexibility at workplace

Majority of working women in the country prefer greater flexibility at workplace and they define professional success as the right balance between work and personal life, says a survey.

Professional networking site LinkedIn's survey released on Monday said that 94 per cent of Indian women felt that they have led a successfull career.

"A majority of women (63 per cent) worldwide define professional success as having the right balance between work and personal life and nearly three quarters of women (74 per cent) believe they can have it all," the study titled 'What Women Want @ Work' said.

Going by the findings, Indian women with more than six years of experience feel more satisfied with their professional lives as compared to those with lesser experience.

"This is tempered by the finding that one in three Indian women say that they have faced sexism at the workplace which is by far the highest across all countries surveyed," it added.

As many as 85 per cent of Indian working women would like greater flexibility within the workplace.

Flexible work environment and leadership opportunities trumpeted as two of the most important factors in determining the success of the next generation of Indian professional women,

the report said.

However, around 43 per cent of the respondents said that they would never leave their jobs to become stay-at-home moms.

The findings are based on a survey of more than 5,000 working women across 13 countries including India.

LinkedIn partnered with Cross-Tab to survey over 400 respondents between the ages of 18-65 were surveyed in each market.

According to LinkedIn, women still face significant career barriers in the workplace.

"For professional women in India, lack of investment in professional development (48 per cent) is the No.1 challenge that affects their career, followed by the absence of a role model (43 per cent).

"Additionally, juggling between work and family life (36 per cent) and inequality in pay (25 per cent) were perceived to be major inhibitors of professional success," it said.

LinkedIn India, Korea and MENA region Head of Communications Deepa Sapatnekar said that despite concerns over the glass ceiling, a firm commitment to strike the right balance between personal and professional life and a growing trend of grassroots entrepreneurialism in India are all very positive signs.

"While female professionals here consider sexism to be a challenge more than other countries, it is heartening to see the confident strides Indian women are taking in their careers," she added.