The Uncomfortable Truth About Women’s Mental Health in India’s Corporate World
Over the last couple of years, India has witnessed a consistent increase in the ratio of women entering the corporate world. From the ranks of freshers to the boardroom of C-suite executives, women are shattering glass ceilings across industries. At the back of this story of advancement is the hushed, evil truth – the mental health of working women in India’s corporations is shattered.
The Invisible Struggle
For too many women, the corporate ladder is steep – and studded with hidden landmines. Microaggressions, sexism, pay discrimination, underrepresentation in leadership, and perpetual pressure to “prove themselves” create a poisonous cocktail of stressors. Mix in the work of unpaid domestic labour and social expectations, and the perfect storm of chronic stress, burnout, and depression.
In the survey of 2023 carried out by Deloitte, nearly 57% of Indian women professionals identified over-stressing at workplace, and most of them associated this with a deficiency of psychological safety and unwholesome work cultures.
The Culture of Silence
Mental illness remains a hush-hush subject in most Indian workplaces. It is worse among women. Aversion to discuss emotional suffering is usually responded to with phrases such as “too emotional” or “not tough enough to be in charge.” The cultural silence compels many to remain silent and suffer, risking professional punishment or being labeled as “weak.”
Maternity, Misogyny, and Mental Health
Far from being the most neglected of corporate wellness initiatives is maternal support for women through and after delivery. Companies tout motherly leave schemes, but re-entry into the workplace is alarming. Denials of flexible working time, childcare support, and tact from colleagues and managers lead to increased post-partum stress and even postnatal depression.
Also, women who forego marriage or children generally experience another type of psychological distress – that of having to be available 24/7, to get more done, and not to gripe.
The Burnout Epidemic
Most of the women employed in the corporate sector in India are quietly burnt out. In contrast to the Western practice of open therapy, Indian women internalize pressure and thus respond with somatic symptoms such as insomnia, headaches, and hypertension. Women tend to work on till they develop overt physical problems.
Corporate Accountability: Companies must do better than canned wellness webinars. Frequent mental health check-ins, anonymous staff surveys, and access to trained counsellors can help.
Leadership Representation: Growing women’s representation in leadership will help to bring normalization to conversations about issues specific to working female professionals.
Mental Health Days: Similar to how companies provide for sick days, they should make mental health days the new normal without stigma.
Allyship & Inclusion: Male managers and colleagues need to step up to create inclusive workplaces. It is not a “women’s issue” – it is a workplace issue.
Flexible Policies: From hybrid work arrangements, flexible hours, to caregiver leave, policies need to catch up with women’s lived realities.
Conclusion: India’s business success stories would be incomplete without taking into account the cost of mental health it extracts from its working women. As we take the lead for the cause of equality in boardrooms and demystify patriarchal systems, let us not forget working towards creating systems that heal, care, and empower – not on paper alone, but also in practice.
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