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<ul><li><keyword id="3658" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> does not feature in the list of the 10 countries to have the best conditions for working women. </li><li>Over 90% of the 10 million job job lost last year were reported by women according to CMIE.</li></ul>The female <keyword id="7446716" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Workforce-in-India">workforce in India</keyword> has seen a striking decline over the years. Only a quarter of women who can work, are working, as per periodic labour force survey (PLFS) data published by National Sample Survey Office (NSSO). India has a significantly low female labour participation rate (LFPR)-- the percentage of working age women who are employed, or are available to work. This is at 23% in 2017-2018, which came down from 31% in 2011-12. Unsurprisingly, India is behind nine others in terms of the lowest proportion of working women, the data says. It also does not feature in the list of the 10 countries which have the best conditions for working women. Ireland, Sweden, New Zealand are amongst those which occupied the coveted spots. Those who were working did not have it easy either. Over 90% of the 10 million jobs lost last year were<a href="https://in.reuters.com/article/india-election-women-jobs/from-farms-to-slums-indian-women-on-sharp-end-of-jobs-crisis-idINKCN1R1073"> reported by women,</a> according to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). The women working in the informal sector are going through job crisis, said a <a href="https://in.reuters.com/article/india-election-women-jobs/from-farms-to-slums-indian-women-on-sharp-end-of-jobs-crisis-idINKCN1R1073">Reuters report.</a> Fewer women managers According to media reports, Asia and the Pacific had the lowest percentage of women in managerial positions, at 24%. For other continents, including Europe, this number is at 70.8%. What is worse is that educated women are failing to contribute to the economy. Women<a href="https://www.news18.com/news/india/union-budget-2019-millions-of-women-are-dropping-out-of-work-heres-how-indias-first-full-time-woman-finance-minister-can-stop-it-2182263.html"> constitute 42% of graduates </a>in the country but only 24 percent of them turn up as entry-level professionals. This curve tapers sharply at the top. The number of women at senior management role is as low as 10%. As a result, a miniscule 1% of women occupy CEO-level positions. According to the <a href="https://www.news18.com/news/india/union-budget-2019-millions-of-women-are-dropping-out-of-work-heres-how-indias-first-full-time-woman-finance-minister-can-stop-it-2182263.html">Ministry of Corporate Affairs,</a> 21% of publicly listed companies do not adhere to the mandate of appointing women directors to the board.

A large section of women are vanishing from the workforce in India

Burnout is the biggest factor behind women leaving the workforce in India

Believe it or not but gender discrimination is still prevalent at workplaces. As per a survey by staffing services firm TeamLease, <keyword id="46431" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="India-Inc">India Inc</keyword> remains reluctant to integrate women into workforce and over 72 per cent of women feel that gender discrimination is prevalent at workplaces. 
 
The survey stated that the under-representation of women in workforce is due to stereotypical choice of higher education. 
Over 61 per cent of women choose non-professional courses, reducing their chance to get gainful employment opportunities. 
 
"Women are severely under-represented in most well-paying sectors and, at the same time, they are disproportionately well-represented in subsistence-income occupations such as care and agriculture," the survey found out. 
 
From a sectoral perspective, women participation leaves a lot to be desired, though BFSI and software are better-off with 6 per cent and 5 per cent representation at senior management roles, respectively. 
 
Manufacturing, and engineering and auto in particular put up a dismal show. 
 
"Globally, employers are taking quick strides towards diversifying their workforce. We are confident these initiatives will seep into India also where diversity initiatives could potentially have the biggest impact as recent studies suggest (a link) to the economic performance of a country," TeamLease Services Senior Vice-President Rituparna Chakraborty said. 
 
India is estimated to add 16-60 per cent to its national income if women join the labour force in a proportionate measure. 
 The report also punctures the myth surrounding urban <keyword id="6359149" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="working-women">working women</keyword> as the workforce participation of rural women is far higher than urban women. 
 
While only 20 per cent of women from urban areas entered the workforce, women constituted 30 per cent of workers in rural areas, the report said, adding "most urban, educated, women willy-nilly desist from joining the labour force because of patriarchal taboos". 
 
The report said while organisations perceived initiatives like flexi time, leadership training, sexual harassment policies etc to be a game changer, a majority of women employees felt these policies required greater boost.

At least 72% women feel gender bias in workplaces! Is bridging the gap only on papers?

<ul><li>India is estimated to have over 13.5 million women-owned enterprises. </li><li>These enterprises are creating employment for nearly 27 million people in the country and can generate up to 170 million jobs over the next decade. </li><li>‘Women solopreneurs’ — who mostly opt for working remotely — account for 31% of the companies run by women. </li><li>Women labour force participation in India is among the lowest in the world and is stagnating at 25% — much below the UK and the US at 73% and 67%, respectively.</li></ul>Around 20% of India’s enterprises — at 13.5 million are owned by women. These <keyword id="74945" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Women-Entrepreneurs">women entrepreneurs</keyword> also provide direct employment to nearly 27 million others, says a report by Google and <keyword id="122749" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bain-Company">Bain &amp; Company</keyword>. As per the report “Women <keyword id="107737" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Entrepreneurship">Entrepreneurship</keyword> in India – Powering the economy with her '', ‘women solopreneurs’ — who work remotely — account for 31% of the enterprises. These are followed by ‘agripreneurs’ in the rural areas and other small businesses. But this is only the tip of the iceberg. The report believes that such enterprises can generate up to 170 million jobs over the next decade. This is over 25% of the total jobs needed to keep up with the growing population. “We have seen that women are hungry for opportunities to grow their household incomes. Hundreds of women in rural India want to learn more about doing business and many have already made the start to enhance their livelihoods. We are already running a pilot accelerator program for rural entrepreneurs from our Internet Saathi network,” said Sapna Chadha, senior country marketing director at <keyword id="45395" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Google-India">Google India</keyword> &amp; Southeast Asia. Like most other contributions made by women, their role in the economy is significantly underestimated. Women labour force participation in India is among the lowest in the world and is stagnating at 25% — much below the UK and the US at 73% and 67%, respectively. In fact, almost 75% of the working age women in India do not have a paid job. Even in the rural farms, they represent 42% of the agricultural labour force but own merely 2% of the farmland. Social barriers, technological disruption and other stresses have kept women away from making a larger contribution. “Unlocking entrepreneurship amongst women in India is a complex effort, but it provides an unprecedented opportunity to change the economic and social trajectory of India and its women for generations to come. This will drive tremendous job creation and also deliver transformational social and personal outcomes for women,” said Megha Chawla, partner at Bain &amp; Company. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/govt-to-set-up-investment-clearance-cell-for-entrepreneurs/articleshow/73835995.cms">Govt to set up investment clearance cell for entrepreneurs</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/suresh-raina-and-priyanka-raina-turn-entrepreneurs-to-launch-a-babycare-brand/articleshow/73901699.cms">Suresh Raina and Priyanka Raina turn entrepreneurs to launch a babycare brand</a>

Women entrepreneurs who work remotely and in rural areas —  provide 27 million jobs

<ul><li>B Com, MBA and B Pharm graduates are found to be most employable, according to the Wheebox <keyword id="6224961" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="india-skills-report" source="Orion">India Skills Report</keyword> 2023 report. </li><li>In 2023, most of the hiring is likely to happen in automotive, engineering and internet businesses. </li><li>Percentage of the employable women workforce increased to 52.8%, compared to 47.2% for men.</li></ul>The employability of Indians has gone up in the last one year according to The Wheebox India Skills Report. As per its evaluation, half of the candidates – at 50.3% were found to be employable as compared to the 46.2% last year. This report is a result of the evaluation of 3.75 lakh candidates or freshers who took the Wheebox National Employability Test (WNET) across India and the participation of 150 corporations from over 15 different industries in the Early Career Edition of the India Hiring Intent Survey. Piyush Nangru, co-founder and COO, Sunstone said the gap between skills that graduates have and industry-required skills continues to persist. “There is an urgent need across the country for multiple stakeholders to remedy the industry and higher education gap,” he said. Amongst the domains, B Com, MBA and B Pharm graduates are found to be most employable. Whereas, Polytechnic and MCA graduates were the least employable. “Improving employability through higher education remains a challenge and can be attributed to many factors.The post-Covid era further requires realignment of the higher education curriculum, up-skilling practices, and training techniques,” Nangru said. Among cities, Mumbai has the highest overall employment percentage of candidates, followed by Lucknow and Mangalore. The Wheebox India Skills Report 2023 was compiled by trade bodies, companies, educational institutions and more like – CII, AICTE, AIU, Sunstone, Pearson, AWS, Economic Times and Taggd. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Women more employable than men" comment="subhead" text="Women more employable than men">Women more employable than men</cmsannotation> It is interesting to note that the percentage of the employable women workforce stands at 52.8%, compared to 47.2% for men. “The consistent rise in women’s employability over the past ten years is a positive sign of radical changes in India’s developing labour market. Increased participation of women at work will give industries an edge with key roles already being occupied by women as we go into 2023,” the report said. Currently, the share of women in India’s workforce at 33% — is much less than that of males at 67%. Whereas, in countries like South America, Asia, and Africa, women account for 36% of the workforce. Rajasthan has the most percentage of employable females who are prepared for the workforce (53.5%) while Uttar Pradesh stands second with 46.5%. “If India aspires to become a global leader in providing skilled talent, then it is recommended that more policy-level changes are needed to increase workforce participation both in the private sector as well as the government sector,” the report added. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Sectors that will hire the most" comment="subhead" text="Sectors that will hire the most">Sectors that will hire the most</cmsannotation> This year, the demand for skilled labour was driven by the BFSI, pharmaceutical, e-commerce, and IT sectors. The report says that the hiring of freshers in these industries is projected to increase by 20% in 2023 compared to 2022. As many as 36.08% of companies surveyed said that they intend to hire. The report predicts that, in 2023, sectors like automotive, engineering and <keyword id="35619" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="internet-business" source="Orion">internet business</keyword> will see the most hiring. Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Delhi are likely to have the most employable talent in 2023, as per its forecast. According to the <a href="https://unemploymentinindia.cmie.com/">Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy latest data</a>, the unemployment rate of India rose to 8% in November this year. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/sensex-snaps-two-day-losing-streak-jumps-403-points/articleshow/96200366.cms">Sensex snaps two-day losing streak, jumps 403 points</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/inflows-into-equity-mutual-funds-plunge-sharply-in-november-mfs-trim-holdings-in-icici-bank-hcl-tech-kotak-mahindra-bank/articleshow/96200043.cms">Inflows into equity mutual funds plunge sharply in November; MFs trim holdings in ICICI Bank, HCL Tech, Kotak Mahindra Bank</a>

There are more employable women than men in India: Wheebox India Skills Report

<ul><li>The number of salaried <keyword id="32919" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="women-employees">women employees</keyword> in the urban workforce has increased by 2.1%, compared to 1.5% amongst men, according to the <keyword id="3429286" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Periodic-Labour-Force-Survey">Periodic Labour Force Survey</keyword> (PLFS) released by the National Statistical Organisation (NSO). </li><li>The overall share of salaried employees improved from 48.3% in 2018 to 50% in March 2019. </li><li>The unemployment rate dropped to 11.6% among women against 12.8% in June last year. </li><li>According to the Monster Salary Index, women earn 19% less than men in India. </li></ul>Fewer Indian women are a part of its labour market. But their participation seems to be growing at a faster rate than that of men. Salaried women employees in the urban workforce increased by 2.1% as compared to 1.5% among men, according to the <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/jobs/rise-in-salaried-workers-women-fare-better-nso/articleshow/72217767.cms?from=mdr">Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) </a>released by the National Statistical Organisation (NSO). The overall share of salaried employees improved from 48.3% in 2018 to 50% in March 2019. However, the survey also says that unemployment is higher among women. The rate of unemployment in women dropped to 11.6% as against 12.8% in June last year. But it is yet to match that of men where unemployment rate is at 8.7%. <keyword id="2191211" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="gender-pay-gap">Gender pay gap</keyword> remains However, the pay gap remains an area of concern for the government and organisations. According to the<a href="https://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/gender-pay-gap-still-high-women-in-india-earn-19-per-cent-less-than-men-report/story/325378.html"> Monster Salary Index,</a> women earn 19% less than men in India. The online job search platform shows that the gender pay gap widens with higher skill level but exist all across. This could be one of the many reasons why women participation in the workforce is low. Even after five years, merely 22% of the females between the age bracket of 15-30 years are expected to enter the labour force, according to the <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/skills-study-over-next-5-years-just-1-in-5-entrants-to-labour-force-a-woman-6127848/">National Skills Development Corporation</a>. That means, of the 59 million people who enter the job market, only one in five will be women. Education Statistics Though fewer women are expected to work, there has been no change in women who are keen on an education. Female participation at the higher secondary level stood at 70.8% over the last decade. But this is changing as the skill levels increase. The share of women in engineering and management courses dropped in 2018, the survey highlighted. While the students enrolling in vocational courses rose by 3.9% in the last four years. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/unemployment-in-india-highest-among-urban-youth-says-government-data/articleshow/69631185.cms">Unemployment in India highest among urban youth, says government data</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/male-workforce-is-reportedly-shrinking-in-india-reveals-job-survey-by-nsso/articleshow/68498030.cms">Male workforce is reportedly shrinking in India, reveals job survey by NSSO</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/over-200-economists-academicians-ask-govt-to-release-nsso-data-reports/articleshow/72172989.cms">Over 200 economists, academicians ask govt to release NSSO data, reports</a>

More women are drawing salaries in India but the gender pay gap persists

<ul><li>The rise in automation will likely lead to job losses in India with the women workforce taking a big hit. </li><li>According to the Mckinsey Global Institute, over 11 million women will need job transitions as automated systems take over most tasks. </li><li>Automation is expected to hit the clerical and administrative positions the most among women, highlighted the report.</li></ul>The rise of artificial intelligence is changing the job market in a big way all over the world. But in Indian women face a bigger risk compared to men in the automation industry. According to the latest research titled <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/jobs/nearly-107-million-women-at-risk-of-losing-jobs-globally-as-automation-takes-over-mckinsey-report/articleshow/69659364.cms?from=mdr">“The future of women at work: Transitions in the age of automation”</a> by McKinsey Global Institute, automation may cost India a major transition in jobs over the next 10 years. The report highlighted that nearly 11 million Indian women in the workforce will need to change their jobs by 2030, thanks to automated system carrying out majority tasks at workplace. This is nearly 8% of the total women employed across the globe. Globally, this may impact nearly 160 million female working professionals. The job losses will majorly impact the clerical and in-service jobs including administrative positions, accounting for over half of the job loss among women. While the manufacturing industry will be the most prone to job loss among men. For instance, nearly <a href="https://mobile.edweek.org/c.jsp?cid=25920011&amp;item=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.edweek.org%2Fv1%2Fblog%2F63%2Findex.html%3Fuuid%3D79173">40% of the total elementary school tasks</a>, performed by the teachers can be potentially automated to ease the workflow. Low-paid occupations including labour workforce accounts for a large proportion of India’s female working population, with agriculture producing nearly 60% jobs. However, this will also lead to creation of new jobs. India is expected to generate nearly 23 million new jobs for working-age women, compared to 91 million among men, the report suggested. Given that, the automated systems will eventually lead to a rise in demand for workforce skilled in artificial intelligence and machine learning tools. “Women start with lower representation in the workplace and in most economies there is a strong genderization of work or more concentration of women in certain occupations than others,” Anu Madgavkar, partner with Mckinsey Global Institute <a href="https://www.livemint.com/news/india/up-to-12-mn-indian-women-may-lose-their-jobs-to-automation-by-2030-study-1559669338838.html">reportedly</a> said. Within the IT space, skills that are needed include “AI, machine learning, blockchain, cloud computing, data visualization, data engineering, IOT, data science and analytics, and extended Reality (virtual reality and augmented reality),” said Bhajneet Dhingra, independent talent advisor for IT majors and startups. According to him, globally women contribute only between 10-12% in AI and machine learning, leaving a lot of room to make an impact. The McKinsey research studied the fastest growing economies including India, Japan, Germany and the US among others. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/highschool-passouts-will-be-now-groomed-for-it-jobs-in-india/articleshow/69592019.cms">Highschool passouts will be now groomed for IT jobs</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/taco-bell-is-going-on-expansion-spree-in-india-with-plans-to-hire-20000-people/articleshow/69356621.cms">Taco Bell is going on expansion spree in India — with plans to hire 20,000 people</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/mukesh-ambani-led-reliance-jio-cuts-contractual-staff/articleshow/69576896.cms">India’s telecom giant Reliance Jio cuts contractual staff</a>

Automation will affect women the most in the Indian job market: Report

<ul><li>India is reported to have merely 27% of women in the workforce, according to the <keyword id="6354424" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="world-bank">World Bank</keyword>. </li><li>Almost 89% companies aim at empowering women to join leadership positions, according to a study on Diversity and Inclusion programmes by executive search firm Heidrick &amp; Struggles. </li><li>One in every five women in India is skilled in <keyword id="107950" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="20" keywordseo="artificial-intelligence">artificial intelligence</keyword>.</li><li>Globally, the survey ranks Australia as the most advanced market for developing Diversity and Inclusion (D&amp;I) programmes.</li></ul>The share of women in Indian workforce is as low as 27%. But the country is stepping up efforts to address the issue, according to a study on Diversity and Inclusion programmes by executive search firm Heidrick &amp; Struggles. Almost 89% companies try to empower women to join leadership positions. The Securities and Exchange Board of India also rolled out directions on including women in the boardrooms of listed companies by early 2020. The study also reveals that one in every five women in India is skilled in artificial intelligence. “We are seeing a growing trend of more women becoming equipped with the latest technology skill sets. This indicates an increasing number of women in India are entering a space which was commonly seen as a male-dominated domain,” said Gauri Padmanabhan, Partner, Heidrick &amp; Struggles. Almost 40% of the companies across the surveyed countries have an LGBTQ inclusion programme, the survey said. However in India, participation from LGBTQ community and specially-abled category has a long way to go. “As women break barriers and step forward in every area, we will gradually be able to create pathways for inclusion of other communities,” she added. While all the companies surveyed have diversity and inclusion policies in place, only a third of them think they are important. Globally, the survey ranks Australia as the most advanced market for developing Diversity and Inclusion (D&amp;I) programmes. Singapore has shown a rampant increase in women participation in the workforce, according to the World Bank. The survey analysed responses from over 140 senior executives across India, Japan, China, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/international-womens-day-indian-women-still-a-long-way-off-from-empowerment/articleshow/68313107.cms">Women’s day in numbers: 9 grim reminders that Indian women are still a long way off from empowerment</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/only-15-of-women-in-indian-boardrooms-new-study-says-its-the-third-lowest-in-asia-pacific/articleshow/71534761.cms">Only 15% of women in Indian boardrooms — new study says it’s the third lowest in Asia Pacific</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tcs-has-36-women-employees-in-the-workforce/articleshow/70190643.cms">TCS is running on women power, with over 150,000 permanent employees</a>

Fewer Indian women are working in spite of companies trying hard to improve diversity

<ul><li>The ‘Women March for change’ in 135 cities in India presses the need to pay attention to laws related to equality in election manifesto. </li><li>The idea of the march was to press the need to suppress “the growth of fascist and neo-liberal forces” in India. </li><li>All the policies formed were either anti-poor or anti-people that affected women the most, <a href="https://www.thequint.com/photos/women-march-for-change">claimed</a> one of the women activist groups that participated in the protest. </li></ul>With India’s general elections just days away, thousands of women from 135 cities across 20 states in the country came forward on Thursday to protest against the environment of hate and violence against minorities and to demand their constitutional rights. <keyword id="679464" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="women-in-india">Women in India</keyword>’s capital were chanting slogans like ‘Halla Bol’, “Humme chahiye aazadi! We want freedom!,” ‘Awaaz Do’ and ‘Hum ek hai’ while marching from Mandi House to <keyword id="54512" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jantar-Mantar">Jantar Mantar</keyword>. The Women’s March for Change is aimed at uniting voices of dissent against the targeted attacks on the constitutional rights of women in India. Women want change. From war, violence and hate, but the starting point seemed to be the recognition of their many identities, said the organisers in a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/womensmarch2019/">statement. </a> The idea of the march was to press the need to suppress “the growth of fascist and neo-liberal forces” in India resulting in an increase in violence against minorities, women and other minor groups including Muslims, Dalits and Christians have been subject to attacks creating an environment of fear and insecurity. “Over the past few years, there has been a significant decline in the laws dedicated to equality...women have been facing the heat of rural distress. All the policies formed were either anti-poor or anti-people that affected women the most,” <a href="https://www.thequint.com/photos/women-march-for-change">claimed</a> one of the women activist groups that participated in the protest. Women in India have to go through <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/international-womens-day-indian-women-still-a-long-way-off-from-empowerment/articleshow/68313107.cms">a lot of struggle</a> to make a living or a career. According to the latest data from the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) for 2017-18 (yet to be released), female participation in the workforce has <a href="https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/why-female-participation-in-workforce-is-on-the-decline-in-india/301207">declined to 23.3%</a> from 31.2 in 2011-12. It is a matter of grave concern as a greater number of women are participating in the examination for higher studies and competitive exams, reported Outlook. In fact, India features among the countries with lowest female share of workforce with only 25.9% share, said another study released by Pew Research Center in March 2017. Withdrawal of women from work is now being attributed as the primary reason for a fall in India’s workforce. India also has the <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/gender-wage-gap-highest-in-india-women-are-paid-30-less-than-men-ilo-118112701048_1.html">highest gender wage gap</a> when it comes to hourly wages for labour. Women in India are paid 35% less than what men are paid, said a recent report by the International Labour Organisation. The gender wage gap is recorded as the highest among all the 73 countries included in the report. See also : <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/international-womens-day-indian-women-still-a-long-way-off-from-empowerment/articleshow/68313107.cms">Women’s day in numbers: 9 grim reminders that Indian women are still a long way off from empowerment</a>

Indian women across 20 states protest against the ‘environment of hate’

The information technology services and consulting <keyword id="6556311" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Major">major</keyword> <keyword id="6370971" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Accenture">Accenture</keyword> India has set an example for other IT conglomerates. In first-of-its-kind initiative, it has extended maternity leave benefits to five months of paid leave from 12 weeks. 
 Not only this, <keyword id="624" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Women">women</keyword> employees will also be entitled to an additional maternity leave of four weeks paid leave if there is an illness directly related to mother’s pregnancy. The policy will be in effect from May 1. 
 In an exclusive interview to Economic Times, Managing Director, Human Resources for Accenture in India, <keyword id="2836888" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Parag-Pande">Parag Pande</keyword> said the benefits are for both, full-time and part-time employees. 
"We are focused on hiring, retaining and advancing women at every level. Extending maternity leave will help women in our workforce continue to pursue their career goals while raising a family," Pande told the financial daily. 
 
Moreover, if employees want additional time beyond the maternity leave but do not have enough accrued vacation leave can apply for unpaid leave of absence for a further 12 weeks, taking the total permissible leave period to nine months. 
 
Under its new recruiting goal, Accenture further plans to have women comprise at least 40% of their new global hires by the end of fiscal 2017. Presently, 1,15,000 women comprise 36% of their global workforce in 30 countries. 
 
The company also offers a slew of programmes like career guidance for new parents, parents at work programme to assist women employees during maternity to remain in the workforce, etc. 
"The many programmes we offer will enable women in our company to make a smoother transition back to the workforce after having a child. These initiatives will go a long way in helping us continue to recruiting and retaining the best talent," Pande told ET. 
 Maternity is a key period where a sizeable amount of women, majority in the age group of 28 and 35 years, choose to stop working, which leads to draining pipeline of high potential women professionals at <keyword id="1009187" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="the-middle">the middle</keyword> of the pyramid. 
 Presently, only few organisations, mostly in the global banking and <keyword id="6354241" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Financial-Services">financial services</keyword> space in India offer such benefits and most of the other major companies in the IT space in India like Infosys, Capgemini, Microsoft, <keyword id="30331" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="HCL-Technologies">HCL Technologies</keyword>, among others, offer three months of paid statutory maternity leave. 
 Also as mandated, in most companies, women employees are entitled to take an additional one month of paid extended maternity leave in case of any complications. Almost 48% women under the age group of 30 drop out of the workplace citing, says Saundarya Rajesh, founder and <keyword id="2540" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="President">president</keyword> of <keyword id="2836889" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Avtar-Career-Creators-FLEXI">Avtar Career Creators &amp; FLEXI</keyword> Careers India, who works in the area of re-engaging second career women. 
 
She adds among the highest percentage of women who seek re-entry at the mid-career level are those who have already worked in IT industry, which hires among the largest numbers of women in the Indian workplace, probably second only to the BFSI sector. 
But IT-ITeSBPO also loses approximately 18% women each year to short or medium-term breaks in career. 
 
The cost of replacing these women, who quit workplace primarily citing "personal reasons" seek to return to the workforce about 18-20 months after their break. 
Due to this, the cost of replacing these women as well as retraining them is higher compared to what can be achieved if they were retained. 
 
"Companies would save thousands of rupees if they are able to create a support structure to retain these women. A robust maternity benefit policy can play a crucial role not only for diversity and inclusion but for organisations to be sustainable," Saundarya told ET.

​Accenture has planned a Mother’s Day gift for all its female employees. Know what

Even though the numbers of <keyword id="1066454" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="female-workforce">female workforce</keyword> has increased in the country, a survey reveals that female workers in the Indian workforce are significantly more disengaged than their male counterparts. As per the survey, just 39% of women were fully engaged while for men, the number is 50%. 
 
The results were published by an Employee Engagement Whitepaper released by Dale Carnegie Training India. 
 
"Several HR functions even have gender diversity targets. But the real challenge continues to be high dropout rates and every level of the hierarchy and eventually the glass ceiling," Dale Carnegie Training India Chairperson and MD Pallavi Jha said. 
 
The report also highlighted that whatever expectations Indian women have from their workplaces, there company doesn’t fulfil them, especially when it comes to their male peers. In some cases, these unmet expectations also lead to disillusionment and the organisation reaches low productivity and lower retention. 
 
"In order to understand how to retain women and grow them it is imperative that organisations look at engagement more holistically," Jha added. 
 
While the results are shocking, there are also various companies that undertake measures so that there is gender diversity in their staff and that their women workforce is fully engaged. 
 
<a href="http://i.livescience.com/images/i/000/026/772/original/male-female-brain.jpg?1335876826">Image source </a>

Survey reveals that only 39% women are fully engaged at work, as compared to 50% men

Worldwide women drive 70% - 80% of consumer base either as an influencer by buying on behalf of the family or as a direct customer. The “female economy” is a great business opportunity for many businesses such as: Health Care, Retail, Apparel, Beauty etc. Companies’ workforce mix must reflect the clients’ diverse population to be responsive to their needs and expectations.

	According to a IBM Smarter workforce study conducted on 33,000 workers in 28 countries, creating a strong climate of <keyword id="61889" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Diversity">diversity</keyword> and inclusion leads to higher confidence in organizational performance, higher customer focus, higher level of employee engagement and better innovations and outcomes when compared to organizations with a weak diversity and inclusion climate.<o:p></o:p>

	The worldwide survey conducted by HR consulting firm DDI and The Conference Board suggests that, in 20% of the top financially performing companies, 27% of the leaders are women. Among the bottom 20%, only 19% of leaders are women. Research indicates that businesses that have higher representation of women at the leadership level report stronger financial outcomes.<o:p></o:p>

	A dearth of top talent is often cited as the biggest barrier to company growth in emerging markets. As per WEF, there are 24% women in India's workforce, 117 million out of 478 million people. The proportion of women in private sector companies is 24.5% of the total workforce compared to just 17.9% of the public sector. In central government jobs, women accounted for 7.6% in 1991, which, almost two decades later, had touched just 10%. To meet the talent demand, companies can explore best from the widest possible untapped women talent pool.<o:p></o:p>

	In the 1980s, IBM had an ad that said "Great minds think alike". Eventually, it was changed to read: "Great minds think unalike." The point is clear enough: a diversity of knowledge, talents, and experience helps companies grow. The diverse perspectives and talent spur innovation. The application of intelligence, reason and science improve business, human condition and society at large. <o:p></o:p>

	Every organization benefits with a balanced representation of men and women in the workplace. Diversity as a strategy impacts not only the organization performance but its reputation as an “Employer of Choice”. Organization recognizing that diversity is an essential component of doing business is more relevant today than ever.<o:p></o:p>

	(About the author: This article has been written by Roopa Wilson, Diversity &amp; Inclusion-India Lead, IBM India / South Asia) 
	 
	Image: indiatimes.com<o:p></o:p>

Workplace diversity leads to better results

For the past few years, the International women’s day has been increasingly exploited by corporations to push products to women. And in the process failing to grasp the spirit of the day to reflect upon the pressing issues of gender inequality and some very real, existential struggles for Indian women. Here’s a stock-take of how women in the country fare on various development fronts including economic and workplace opportunities. 23% women participation in the workforce According to the latest data from the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) for 2017-18 (yet to be released), female participation in the workforce has <a href="https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/why-female-participation-in-workforce-is-on-the-decline-in-india/301207">declined to 23.3%</a> from 31.2 in 2011-12. It is a matter of grave concern as a greater number of women are participating in the examination for higher studies and competitive exams, reported Outlook. In fact, India features among the countries with lowest female share of workforce with only 25.9% share, said another study released by Pew Research Center in March 2017. Withdrawal of women from work is now being attributed as the primary reason for a fall in India’s workforce. Weak laws governing equal pay rights for women India is among <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india-among-the-worst-countries-for-laws-governing-equal-pay-rights-for-women-world-bank/articleshow/68287917.cms">the worst countries</a> when it comes to laws governing equal pay rights. It scored zero out of 100 when it comes to giving equal pay rights to women compared to men, said a recent report by the World Bank on “Women, Business, and the Law 2019,”However, it scored 100 out of 100 for “starting a job,” which measured laws letting women pursue a job, and getting married. Slow improvement in sex ratio India has been a poster child for unequal sex ratio from ages. However, the sex ratio has witnessed a marginal improvement from 933 female in 2001 to 940 in 2011 against every 1000 males, reported Economic Times. According to the<a href="https://www.census2011.co.in/"> Population Census of 2011</a>, population ratio in India was 940 females per 1000 males in 2011. 53% female literacy rate There’s a huge gender gap in India when it comes to education and literacy. According to the Census 2011, “The overall literacy rate works out to be 64.8 %, the male literacy rate is 75.3% and that for females is 53.7%, showing a gap of 21.6 percentage points between the sexes at the national level.” The gender gap in literacy rate is more in rural areas than urban areas. Kerala, Mizoram, Lakshadweep, Goa and Chandigarh are the top five positions in literacy. On the flip, Dadra &amp; Nagar Haveli, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu &amp; Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Bihar are at the bottom. Number of women in politics The proportion of ministerial posts held by women in India <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/02/chart-of-the-day-these-countries-have-the-most-women-in-parliament/">is low</a>. Although India once had a female leader, India Gandhi, today there are only 64 women in 545 of Member of Parliaments as of February 2019, according to World Economic Forum In fact, most of the countries around the world never had a female leader. Low representation in highest-earning Indian celebrity list by Forbes. Only 18 women made it to this year’s Forbes list of 100 highest-earning Indian celebrities including sports. Deepika Padukone, who earned over ₹1,120 million in 2018, was ranked as the highest paid female celebrity in India. With that, she also became the first woman to make it to the top five on the overall list, standing at fourth place. Widening gender wage gap India also has the<a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/gender-wage-gap-highest-in-india-women-are-paid-30-less-than-men-ilo-118112701048_1.html"> highest gender wage gap</a> when it comes to hourly wages for labour. Women in India are paid 35% less than what men are paid, said a recent report by the International Labour Organisation. The gender wage gap is recorded as the highest among all the 73 countries included in the report. Crime against women India, which is among the few countries to maintain the list of sex offenders, have recently added over 500,000 names in the list. Overall, there were nearly 338,954 cases registered for crimes committed against women in 2016. A further breakdown <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/govt-adds-5-lakh-names-to-national-sex-offenders-database-1463738-2019-02-24">revealed </a>that most of the cases were reported under violence by husband or his relatives (32.6%t), assault on woman (25%), kidnapping(19%), and rape (11.5%). Hardly any Indian women billionaires The number of women billionaires representing India in Forbes billionaires rich list 2019 was extremely low. Only one woman, Savitri Jindal, from Jindal group<a href="https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/#42a13695251c"> could make it to the top 500 </a>people at 290 rank with a net worth of $5.9 billion. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/activists-demand-reservation-for-women-in-all-political-parties/articleshow/68301996.cms">India should bar political parties with low women representation, demands activist group</a>

Women’s day in numbers: 9 grim reminders that Indian women are still a long way off from empowerment

We often hear that size doesn’t matter and small things bring about the biggest changes. This is what happened when the tiny state of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Sikkim+&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Sikkim </a>emerged at the top spot with the best workplace conditions for women in India. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Delhi&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Delhi</a>, the national capital on the other hand happened to be ranked the worst for women to work in. 
 A report, jointly prepared by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (<keyword id="6701742" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="CSIS">CSIS</keyword>), a top American think-tank, and Nathan Associates, gave <keyword id="48118" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sikkim">Sikkim</keyword> the max marks that were 40 and Delhi received just 8.5 marks, reflecting what is wrong in the capital. 
 
"In something of a surprise, Delhi came last in our Index, due to its relatively low justice and workforce participation scores; its continued formal restrictions on women working at night in a wide range of sectors; and its lack of any incentives for female entrepreneurs in its industrial policies," the report said. 
 
The ranking was based on four main factors: legal restrictions on women's working hours in factories, retail, and the IT industry; the responsiveness of the state's criminal justice system to crimes affecting working women, such as sexual harassment; the number of women workers in the state as a percentage of total workers; and the number of incentives the state's startup and industrial policies offer women entrepreneurs. 
 
"But the tiny northeastern state of Sikkim is the breakthrough state for women in the workplace, thanks to its high rates of female workforce participation, lack of restrictions on women's working hours, and high conviction rates for workforce crimes against women (albeit on a small sample size)," the report said. 
 
Sikkim is followed by <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Telangana&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Telangana</a> (28.5 points), <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Puducherry&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Puducherry</a> (25.6), <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Karnataka+&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Karnataka </a>(24.7), <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Himachal+Pradesh&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Himachal Pradesh</a> (24.2), <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Andhra+Pradesh+&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Andhra Pradesh </a>(24.0), <keyword id="28504" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kerala">Kerala</keyword> (22.2), <keyword id="13126" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Maharashtra">Maharashtra</keyword> (21.4), <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=tamil+nadu&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Tamil Nadu</a> (21.1) and <keyword id="43945" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Chhattisgarh">Chhattisgarh</keyword> (21.1). “All Four states (Sikkim, <keyword id="6354780" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="Karnataka">Karnataka</keyword>, <keyword id="37102" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Andhra-Pradesh">Andhra Pradesh</keyword>, and <keyword id="20154" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="tamil-nadu">Tamil Nadu</keyword>) have removed all restrictions on women working at night in factories, retail establishments and the IT sector,” the report said. 
 
These restrictions were removed as a result of court order in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. 
 
Maharashtra missed the perfect score by just a point as the state doesn’t allow women to work after 10 pm in retail establishments. 
 
India has the world's lowest rate (24 per cent) of female workforce participation as many states have laws limiting women's working hours, and Indian women face harassment in the workplace and while commuting. 
(image:youtube)

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You Searched For "Women Workforce in India" and got 14 results

A large section of women are vanishing from the workforce in India

BI India Bureau

Burnout is the biggest factor behind women leaving the workforce in India

Vaamanaa Sethi

At least 72% women feel gender bias in workplaces! Is bridging the gap only on papers?

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