Women’s share in leadership positions climbs to 20%: Study

The tenth edition of Best Companies for Women in India (BCWI) listing, featuring 125 companies, has been released by workplace culture consulting and inclusion solutions company Avtar.

According to the findings, for the first time, women’s representation in leadership reaches 20%, even as overall women’s representation among Best Companies remains stable at 35.7%. Professional services leads with 44.6% of the workforce being women, followed by ITES with 41.7% women. Pharma with 25% of women, FMCG with 23% and manufacturing with 12% women are intensifying their inclusion efforts.

The study also explored the reasons behind employee attrition for both women and men. While attrition rates are similar across levels at Best Companies, averaging around 20, the top reason for leaving, for both genders, is access to better career opportunities. For women, however, health and well-being challenges surface as a significant driver of exits, ranking even higher than childcare responsibilities. 

In its 10th edition, BCWI received 365 applications from organisations across various industries, regions, and sectors in India, out of which companies from industries as diverse as automotive, BFSI, chemical, conglomerate, consumer products, ecommerce, Global Capabilities Centre (GCC), hospitality, healthcare, IT, ITES, logistics and management consulting, manufacturing, media, pharmaceutical, professional services, revenue cycle management, real estate, retail and apparel, and science & engineering, telecommunication and utilities, made it to the Best Companies List.

The 2025 Avtar & Seramount Top 10 Best Companies for Women in India (in alphabetical order) are: 

Accenture Solutions Private Limited, AXA XL India Business Services Pvt. Ltd, Cairn Oil and Gas Vedanta Limited, EY, KPMG in India, Mastercard Incorporation, Optum Global Solutions (India) Private Limited, Procter & Gamble India, Tech Mahindra Limited, and Wipro Limited. The full list can be viewed here.  

Avtar has released the seventh edition of its annual Most Inclusive Companies Index (MICI), showcasing how organisations are expanding their commitment to diversity and inclusion across multiple strands—Persons with Disabilities (PwD), LGBTQ+, generational, and cultural diversity.

In 2019, only 58% of companies reported focusing on PwDs; today, that number has surged to a full 100%, with MICI-listed companies collectively employing 9,687 persons with disabilities. LGBTQ+ inclusion has also seen remarkable progress—rising from 23% of companies in 2019 to 95% this year.

The 2025 Avtar & Seramount Champions of Inclusion, listed alphabetically, are: Accenture Solutions Private Limited, Allianz Services India, AXA XL India Business Services Pvt. Ltd, Encore Capital Group Inc, EY, IBM India Private Limited, KPMG in India, Mastercard Incorporation, Omega Healthcare Management Services Pvt. Ltd. and UST. The full list can be viewed, at www.avtarinc.com/enrich/benchmarking.

For the first time, Avtar also announced the Top 10 Best Companies for ESG evaluating companies on the three tenets of ESG—environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and governance excellence.

The study found that energy efficiency (90% of companies) and solar adoption (80%) are the most widely implemented sustainability strategies. In contrast, hydroelectric and wind energy remain underutilised, largely due to infrastructure gaps and geographic constraints. On the workplace front, while all companies (100%) have a formal occupational safety and health policy, nine in ten also provide ESG-specific training to their employees.

The 2025 Avtar & Seramount Top 10 Best Companies for ESG, listed alphabetically, are: CGI, Eaton Technologies Pvt Ltd, EPAM Systems India Private Limited, GRP LTD, Infosys Limited, Lear Corporation, Solenis chemicals, Tata Communications Ltd, UST and Wipro Limited. The full list can be viewed here: www.avtarinc.com/avtar-seramount-best-companies-for-esg-bcesg-in-india.

Dr. Saundarya Rajesh, Founder, President, Avtar, said, “From an average women’s representation of 25% in 2016, the best companies have collectively grown to 35.7% women’s representation this year. Women in C-suite leadership touch 20%, up from 13% in 2016. What’s truly encouraging is that these efforts extend beyond multinational corporations–the share of Indian companies that feature in the Best Companies listing has grown from 25% in 2021 to 40% this year.”

“What inspires me about the Most Inclusive Companies Index is the real change it sparks—helping organisations in India break down barriers, design thoughtful solutions, and open new opportunities for underrepresented talent,” said Subha Barry, President of Seramount.