Breaking barriers in 2025: Women’s progress at work and what the road ahead demands

The year 2025 has been a continuation of a deeply interesting and demanding era for the workforce. People leaders like me have spent much of the year navigating an increasingly intergenerational workplace, redefining the psychological contract between employers and employees, and grappling with new frameworks for gig and non-traditional work.

Yet, amid this complexity, a quieter but far more consequential shift has been underway. Many of the changes organisations have struggled to adapt to—flexibility, outcome-based work, distributed teams, and skills-first hiring—have turned out to be a long-overdue leveller for a segment of the workforce that has been playing catch-up for decades, if not centuries: women.

How 2025 accelerated women’s workforce participation

The onset of a digital-first workplace, wider acceptance of flexible work arrangements, and the sustained growth of service-led industries created an environment where women could finally navigate the balance between work and family with greater agency. 

In India, official labour force data has shown a strong upward trajectory in women’s participation in recent years. The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) annual report (July 2023–June 2024) reported a female Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR, usual status, age 15+) of 41.7%, up from 37.0% the previous year. Into 2025, PLFS quarterly readings have also indicated rising female participation, including in the July–September 2025 quarter. 

More importantly, this growth was not limited to first-time entrants. Women returning after career breaks—often due to caregiving responsibilities—found re-entry points that had previously been unavailable or inaccessible.

Hybrid work models reduced geographic constraints. Technology-enabled roles lowered dependence on physical presence. And employers, driven by talent shortages and productivity pressures, became more open to rethinking rigid employment norms. For the first time in years, women’s participation began to feel less like a social aspiration and more like a business necessity.

Industries and skills driving this shift

The increase in women’s employment in 2025 was most visible across sectors such as education, healthcare, digital services, retail, financial services, and the broader platform and services economy. These industries not only expanded rapidly but also relied heavily on skills rather than traditional pedigree-based credentials.

Digital fluency, AI-enabled tools, data interpretation, customer experience, program management, instructional design, and operations leadership emerged as some of the most in-demand capabilities.

Crucially, many such roles can be enabled with reliable computing hardware, internet access, and relevant training—widening access for women in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.

This shift unlocked opportunities for ambitious women looking to enter or restart their careers without relocating or compromising family responsibilities. The expansion of quick commerce, healthcare services, and organised retail in non-metro regions further accelerated this trend, creating employment avenues for women at both early and mid-career stages.

Another encouraging development has been the rise of women-focused brands and businesses, where women are not only the primary consumers but also the founders, leaders, and decision-makers—strengthening the ecosystem for female-led and female-managed startups across the country.

The role of policy, trust, and workplace design

None of this progress would have been possible without the evolution of workplace policies—some driven by government mandates and others by organisational intent.

Landmark measures such as 26 weeks of paid maternity leave ,requirement for crèche facilities in establishments with 50 or more employees, have contributed to a broader recognition of women’s lived realities at work. 

There have also been periodic state-level and organisational initiatives around menstrual health—such as Bihar’s long-running policy for government employees and Kerala’s menstrual leave for university students—alongside voluntary adoption by some private employers. While opinions remain divided on aspects of these policies, their greatest contribution is often symbolic as much as structural: acknowledging that women’s bodies, lives, and responsibilities cannot be separated from their professional identities.

From my experience, however, women in the workforce are not seeking excessive concessions or special treatment. What they need most is trust and understanding. There will be days when mobility is limited, when caregiving takes precedence, or when health realities intervene. What makes the difference is not policy alone, but the maturity and compassion to respond without friction or judgment. The trade-off, when organisations get this right, is significant: a motivated, engaged, and loyal workforce that consistently outperforms environments built on rigidity and suspicion.

What 2026 must get right

If 2025 was about momentum, 2026 must be about intentional design. Organisations need to recognise that access alone is not enough. Sustained participation requires investment in skilling, transparent advancement pathways, and leadership pipelines that actively include women—particularly at the mid-career level, where attrition remains highest.

A trained and qualified workforce is a competitive advantage. Gender should no longer be a filtering variable, especially as organisations prepare for a future shaped by rapid technological change and evolving work models.

The question for 2026 is not whether women can participate fully in the workforce. The evidence from 2025 suggests they already are—when systems allow them to. The real question is whether organisations are ready to build workplaces that enable women to grow, lead, and thrive—not despite their realities, but alongside them.

(Ambica Chaturvedi is Vice President – Human Resources, Ashoka University)

(Image by katemangostar on Freepik)