Interfirm mobility of married women in the Indian IT sector: evidence from Delhi

Abstract

Using retrospective work-family survey data and the event-history analysis technique, this paper explores the determinants of interfirm mobility i.e. the factors influencing the firm changing decisions of women in their early careers. In particular, it explores the extent to which family events, such as marriage and first childbirth, affect women's working duration in firms and, consequently, their decision to change jobs. Based on a sample of 295 married women, drawn from Information Technology-Information Technology Enabled Services (IT-ITES) firms in New Delhi and the National Capital Region, the findings show that, amongst individual-level characteristics, children significantly decline women’s interfirm mobility rates, but marriage does not. Amongst firm-level characteristics, lower levels of job position and promotion significantly increase interfirm mobility, whilst rotating shifts, the IT-ITES sector and good working conditions significantly decline interfirm mobility rates. The study does not find that women are less mobile. It, however, takes longer for mothers to change firms due to childcare responsibilities and the extensive searching is required to find a company with standard working hours. This study concludes that women advance their careers by maximizing both status and income rewards through interfirm mobility. The data, however, cannot demonstrate the exact rewards-gain women receive upon changing employers.