India’s IT sector hired over 1 million women since FY23

Over the past decade, the Indian Information Technology (IT) sector has hired over a million female employees into its workforce, highlighting the industry’s dedicated endeavours towards promoting inclusivity, according to media reports.

In FY13, the Indian technology sector employed approximately 900,000 women, constituting 30% of the two million women directly engaged in employment. Since then, this number has doubled and now accounts for 36% of the entire workforce of 503,000 in the industry.

Experts attribute this to the availability of seats in computer science, engineering and related fields has expanded significantly across India. Notably, states such as Tamil Nadu have witnessed more than a twofold increase in available seats. Moreover, the pandemic facilitated the decentralization of work, allowing talent-rich areas, including tier-2 and tier-3 locations, to contribute more significantly. Some forward-looking companies are observing female representation of over 50% in these locations.

Furthermore, the surge in female representation can be attributed to progressive policies of corporates that encourage the induction of women in the workforce, growing instances of women in leadership roles, and the implementation of policy frameworks by various states that enable women to work night shifts.

Numerous companies have also introduced specialized training and upskilling programs that focus on female leaders and offer pathways to those women who have returned to the workforce after a break.

According to industry body Nasscom’s findings, organizations with active involvement from senior leadership in driving the DE&I agenda have 40% higher female representation. 

Source: Economic Times