About 37% of India's 69 crore women in the workforce: Report

Only about 37% (25.6 crore) of the 69.2 crore women in India are actively employed as of 2022-23, revealed a new report by talent solutions provider Careernet. This number was at 23.3% in 2017-18.

The report, The State of Women’s Employment in India, found that Hyderabad, Pune, and Chennai had higher women’s employment rates, standing at 34%, 33% and 29% respectively.

On the other hand, Delhi-NCR marked a decline women recruitments, with a 2% decline from 22% in 2022 to 20% in 2023. The overall representation of women in the workforce increased 2-5% in junior professional and executive boards when compared to 2022.

The report analysed 25,000 job placements, sourced from internal data, employer portals, and hiring trends in 2023, and highlights that employment opportunities for women are increasing in the banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) sector, particularly within Global Capability Centers (GCCs).

GCCs in the BFSI segment have the highest representation in hiring women — about 43% in 2023 compared to 40% in 2022, the report said.

It added that based on seniority, most women are hired at the entry level and as they go up the ladder, the number of promotions come down. About 40% of freshers from colleges placed in 2023 were women, but only 17% of the employees hired with more than 12 years of experience were women.

“In the female workforce population, we have observed a stark contrast — while 30% of the urban population are white-collar professionals, only 5% of the rural population falls into this category. Across sectors, the total white collar workforce is 80 million, with a mere 10 million being female, indicating a participation rate of just 12.5%. It’s clear that female participation is notably low. This underscores a significant gender disparity in India’s white collar landscape,” Anshuman Das, CEO and co-founder of Careernet, said.