Women’s representation in India Inc remains stable: Report

New Delhi: Women’s representation in India Inc remains stable and the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector leads when it comes to ‘women in leadership’ roles, a report said on Wednesday.

In the BFSI segment, 24.5 per cent of corporate executives are women, followed by FMCG which has 21.5 per cent women at the leadership levels, according to the report by Avtar, a leading workplace culture consulting company. Global capability centres (GCCs) report the lowest attrition rate of women at 10 per cent.

Data showed that average women representation across industries today is at 36.6 per cent and close to 40 per cent at the entry level.

Sectors like professional services are close to gender balance with 46 per cent women while manufacturing reported a gender ratio of 20 per cent, an indication of intensifying efforts.

According to Dr Saundarya Rajesh, Founder and President of Avtar, we are at a unique, paradox and juncture in India with respect to women's participation in the workforce.

“We have made significant progress in many areas such as the sheer volume of the women workforce, the facilities and flexibilities provided and the benefits to name a few but yet far behind in leveraging the opportunity - of enabling women in leadership positions, of ensuring rise in women participation and distribution across sectors and needless to emphasise women's safety and well-being at the workplace so that they are encouraged to stay and grow,” Rajesh explained.

The 2024 annual listing established that IT industry as the single largest employer of women with 24 per cent companies. BFSI followed with 11.

Notably, from 58 per cent companies focusing on people with disabilities (PwDs) in 2019, the number has risen significantly to 98 per cent of companies focusing on building inclusive work environments for PwDs.

The index further broadens the understanding of inclusivity in India by evaluating diverse dimensions including gender, disability, age and culture, said the report.