‘Huge’ gender disparity continues in corporate India

Huge gender disparity continues to exist in Indian workplaces, according to the latest research carried out by global management consulting firm, Zinnov and Intel India.

The joint Gender Diversity Benchmark report revealed that even though women make up 48.2% of India’s population, only ‘modest’ progress has been made to achieve gender parity in the workplace in recent years. The numbers have ‘still failed to move the needle’, despite the fact that the companies surveyed have been running diversity programmes for many years.

Female-friendly programmes and male allies are key to accelerating gender diversity in the workplace, revealed the study. In order to make significant progress in the inclusion of women in the workplace, companies across the board need to ‘align on a few common priorities and themes’, and more importantly ‘collaborate’, it noted. The report formed part of an industry Be-WISE (Women Innovators, Social Leaders and Entrepreneurs) initiative that aims to accelerate inclusive participation of women in the workplace, and provides a platform for companies to collaborate and learn from each other.

Commenting on the study’s findings, Zinnov’s CEO Pari Natarajan, stated: “Concerted efforts over the years have moved the needle from 21% to 30% for the diversity numbers. However, the commitment to change needs to move beyond an organisational setting and include an ecosystem-wide lens. Enabling science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) career options for young women, supporting women-led start-ups, and encouraging other women entrepreneurs are some of the more impactful initiatives that organisations need to actively look at.”

ADVANCING WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION

“Intel India is deeply committed to advancing women’s participation in India’s economy and steering its progress through collaboration with the industry, government and academia,” added Nivruti Rai, Country Head, Intel India, and Vice President of Data Center Group, Intel Corp. “I believe the Zinnov-Intel India Gender Diversity study offers valuable data, insights and industry best practices that would be instrumental in furthering the goal of ‘Be-WISE’ to accelerate inclusive participation of women in the workplace. It is my hope that we can learn from one another and collaborate to create a truly gender diverse and inclusive industry.”

The study evaluated 60 companies from the Indian ecosystem, comprising Global Capability Centres (GCCs), technology service providers, start-ups, and Indian companies to gain an understanding of the current diversity landscape, with the intent of base-lining key practices to improve diversity. It also analysed the statistics around gender diversity and various organisational policies and practices that give a comprehensive perspective of women in corporate India.

Other key findings of the study, include:

• There is a 30% representation of women in corporate India, with 31% and 26% representation within non-technical and technical roles, respectively. 
• There are only 11% senior women leaders in the ecosystem; however, the junior and middle levels fare slightly better. 
• The number of women on company boards has increased from 5% in 2012 to 13% in 2018, thanks to the government mandate of having at least one woman on every company’s board of directors. 
• Location matters when it comes to gender diversity. Bengaluru has the highest gender diversity at the workplace with 34% women employees, followed by Mumbai with 33% diversity and Pune with 32%. The average gender diversity for tier-1 cities stands at 31% and for tier-2 and -3 cities at 25%. 
• Large companies have the highest gender representation at 33%, while medium-sized ones have 27% and small companies, only 21%.
• Global multinational companies comprise 25% female employees, while domestic multinationals employ 30% women, and non-multinational firms 31%.