Employers perceive childless women perfect fit to be ideal workers, research finds

The research reveals new insights into how underlying gender norms shape the everyday experiences of childless women professionals.

New Delhi: Childless women are perceived as a perfect fit to be ideal workers by organisations because of their image of middle-class, professionally educated, career-oriented women who can negotiate well with gender roles, a research by Goa Institute of Management (GIM) has found.

The research published in the prestigious international journal "Equity, Diversity and Inclusion" is a study on workplace microaggressions, revealing new insights into how underlying gender norms shape the everyday experiences of childless women professionals.

The study revealed that workplace interactions with colleagues can reinforce exclusion. By challenging the general equation of womanhood with motherhood, the study positioned childlessness as a valid yet overlooked identity in organisational discourse.

According to Shelly Pandey, Assistant Professor at GIM, the research found that many times, organisational cultures operate on unspoken assumptions linking femininity with motherhood.

"We found that these cultures often lead to marginalisation of women who do not conform to this expectation, be it by choice or circumstance. The team applied the concept of microaggression to document and analyse the experiences of 45 middle-class, professionally engaged childless women from different cities in India," she told PTI.

Through the qualitative study, the researchers found that, at the organisational level, childless women are perceived as a perfect fit for ideal workers, yet their ideal worker image is loaded with various expressions of microaggression.

"The study found that workplace norms often frame motherhood as central to a woman's identity, sidelining alternative life choices. Childless women encounter subtle exclusion both institutionally and inter-personally, including from other women colleagues because of their image of middle-class, professionally educated, career-oriented women who can negotiate well with gender roles.

"There exists a moral undertone in how childlessness is perceived, often casting it as incomplete or socially deviant. These biases remain largely invisible yet contribute to persistent tensions between personal identity and professional expectations," she said.

Research scholar Gyanda Girisha explained that whether someone is childless, childfree, a mother, or single, each person has a distinct identity that deserves recognition and inclusion.

"Reproductive choice is simply a personal decision and should not define one's legitimacy or identity in the workplace. In our research we found that microaggressions are built into workplace culture and are repeated through daily conversations and behaviours that question women's legitimacy, commitment, and identity if they are not mothers.

"The research brings attention to a less-discussed dynamic: the role of women employees themselves in reinforcing traditional gender norms within the workplace. It also frames the workplace as a critical site where multiple identities intersect, producing both subtle and overt forms of discrimination. In the Indian context-where motherhood is often treated as a culturally sacred ideal-these dynamics become even more pronounced," she told PTI.

The researchers have also made recommendations on inclusive workplaces and called for a broader rethinking of how gender is understood in professional environments.