Women’s representation in the Indian workforce remains steady at about 37 per cent, with close to 40 per cent at the entry-level, according to the 2024 ‘Best Companies for Women in India & Most Inclusive Companies Index’ study by Avtar & Seramount. Despite an increase in the number of companies featured, the 37 per cent representation is consistent with the 36.9 per cent reported in 2023.
At the managerial level, women’s representation held steady at 28.4 per cent, compared to 28.63 per cent in 2023. Similarly, women in non-managerial positions remained consistent at 39.96 per cent, only slightly down from 40.39 per cent in the previous year. The Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) sector led in women’s leadership, with 24.5 per cent of corporate executives being women, followed by the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sector, which reported 21.5% women in leadership roles.
Notably, the BFSI sector also made strides in gender diversity within sales roles, where 41 per cent of sales positions are held by women. “Sales is often a challenging area for gender diversity, but BFSI has found effective ways to attract and retain women in this field,” said Saundarya Rajesh, Founder and President of Avtar.
The professional services sector is nearing gender parity, with women comprising 46 per cent of the workforce, while the manufacturing sector lags with a 20 per cent gender ratio. The IT industry remains the largest employer of women, accounting for 24 per cent of the companies on the list, followed by BFSI at 11 per cent. Other sectors, including manufacturing, pharma, healthcare, media & entertainment, and hospitality, featured fewer companies in the rankings, according to the study. which focuses solely on women in the organized corporate workforce.
The study, now in its ninth edition, categorized companies into two segments: large enterprises and “Emerging Icons,” which includes organizations with 100-500 employees. This year saw 361 companies in the large enterprise category and 52 in the Emerging Icons category.
Discussing workforce attrition, Rajesh noted that contrary to popular belief, men and women in corporate India experience equal attrition rates, both at around 20 per cent. “This challenges the stereotype that women are more likely to leave the workforce,” she added. Millennials and Gen Z, now comprising 65 per cent of the workforce, also show balanced gender representation, further influencing these trends. GCCs reported the lowest attrition rate of women at 10 per cent.
In addition, Avtar released the sixth edition of its ‘Most Inclusive Companies Index’ (MICI). The focus on People with Disabilities (PwDs) has seen a significant rise, with 98 per cent of companies now working on creating inclusive environments for PwDs, up from 58 per cent in 2019.