SUMMARY
- The 2024 BCWI survey reveals women’s representation in industries at 36.6%, with IT leading at 24%.
- A new “Emerging Icon” category highlights firms with 33% female workforce and 26% in leadership.
- Inclusivity efforts have surged, with 98% of companies now focusing on People with Disabilities, up from 58%.
The results of the 9th edition of the “Best Companies for Women in India (BCWI)” listing were released today by Avtar, the pioneer and top workplace culture consulting firm in India. The 2024 Avtar & Seramount findings, released as the initiative approaches its tenth anniversary, demonstrate a shift in the Indian working culture.
The survey’s data shows that the average representation of women in all industries is currently 36.6%, with over 40% of them being employed. While manufacturing recorded a gender ratio of 20%, indicating increased efforts, professional services were almost gender balanced at 46% of women.
With 24% of its companies on the list, the IT industry is the largest employer of women. Banking and Financial Services Industry (BFSI) is second with 11%, and nearly 20 other sectors, including manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, media & entertainment, hospitality, etc., trail behind with fewer companies on the list, as per the 2024 annual listing.
A brand-new category, “Best Companies for Women in India-Emerging Icon,” has been added to this year’s listing. It is intended for companies with 100–500 workers in India that have a gender ratio of 26% among leaders and 33% among workers overall.
Avtar unveiled the sixth iteration of its yearly “Most Inclusive Companies Index” (MICI), which shows that, remarkably, the proportion of businesses concentrating on creating inclusive work environments for people with disabilities (PwDs) has increased dramatically to 98% from 58% in 2019. 7427 persons with disabilities are employed collectively by the businesses included in MICI. The exemplars employ over 2275 persons with disabilities, whereas the champions of inclusion collectively employ 4652 PwD.
This year, 361 applications were received by BWCI from organizations in a variety of Indian regions, industries, and sectors. Of these, businesses from the automotive, BFSI, chemical, conglomerate, consumer products, e-commerce, global capabilities center, hospitality, health care, IT, ITES, logistics, and management consulting, manufacturing, media, pharmaceutical, professional services, real estate, retail and apparel, science & engineering, telecommunication, and utilities sectors made it onto the Best Companies List.
Applications from businesses were welcomed for the study from February 2024 to July 2024. Based on their applications’ representation of gender inclusiveness, India’s Top Companies and Best Companies for Women were selected. Ten companies made the winning list out of the 52 companies who applied to be part of Emerging Icons.
“We are at a unique, paradox and juncture in India today concerning 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 a rise in women participation and distribution across sectors and needless to emphasize women’s safety and well-being at the workplace so that they are encouraged to stay and grow. We are committed to nudging and raising the bar at Avtar and this year’s report takes one more step in that direction of recognizing emerging companies on their initiatives towards increasing and enabling women in the workforce and deep-diving into the data industry-wise so that we have an incisive reflection of the gaps and areas that we need to work on”. It is remarkable to witness how organizations across geographies are increasingly committed to creating work environments where diversity is empowered to thrive. The BCWI study and the MICI continue to be a beacon of progress and as we move forward, we remain committed to enabling workplaces where equality is not just a goal, but a reality. The DEI rigor and focus of the participating companies prove that they are keen on turning challenges into opportunities. We are thrilled to congratulate the companies recognized in the listing this year, for their unwavering commitment to DEI in their actions and spirit”, stated Dr. Saundarya Rajesh, founder of Avtar.
Subha Barry, President of Seramount said, “Most Inclusive Companies Index helps companies in India focus their efforts to understand gaps and provide specific strategies, programs, tools, and resources to help raise the standard on DEI strategies for under-represented talent including gender, LGBTQ+, PWD, and different generations. We celebrate the leadership, employees, and initiatives that foster an inclusive environment where women and all talent can thrive.” she further added.”
Dr. Saundarya Rajesh-led Avtar, founded in the year 2000 is the pioneer diversity advocate and workplace inclusion specialist in India. The firm is well-known for its substantial work in the field of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI), particularly with regard to women’s inclusion in the workforce.
