A study on Indian men and their multidimensional perceptions of women careers

The quintessential Indian woman of today has a career orientation very different from her counterparts of a few decades back. Centuries old gender stereotypes have been broken; urban Indian women have proved their mettle, they have been able to widen their expanse beyond the four walls of their homes. This is an achievement, that too, a revolutionary one in itself. And it needs to be acknowledged that this would not have been possible without an attitudinal shift in Indian men upon which they began to recognise the potential of the women in their families and consequently helped them unleash it. This research was aimed at observing and analysing the perceptions of cohorts of Indian men spanning generationally segmented age groups on various aspects of women careers. An attempt to uncover the perceived framework in the minds of Indian men on various aspects of their wives’ careers namely on 1) their wives’ income, 2) their sense of independence, 3) their need for getting their careers enabled, 4) their role in the families and 5) their bond with their children, was consequently made. The key findings were indicative of the fact that younger men have more liberal attitudes towards their wives’ employed status. Husbands of all age groups unanimously agreed that flexible working arrangements is the one key career enabler that can help women integrate their work and life, better. While the results of such a study would inspire Indian Women Professionals to gain further career momentum, it will also help the men in our society keep themselves informed of the underlying commonalities that they share with other men with regards to views on women careers and strive their best to further enable the careers of their partners.