India’s agriculture story has a contradiction.
Women make up a majority of the agricultural workforce. They are also increasingly visible in classrooms across agricultural universities. Yet when it comes to formal jobs in agribusiness, their presence drops sharply.
That gap, says Mallika Mutreja, is not accidental. It is structural.
In a detailed conversation with People Matters, the Chief Human Resources Officer at Godrej Agrovet maps out why a growing talent pipeline is failing to translate into employment, and why fixing that gap is critical for the sector itself.
A pipeline that grows, but does not convert
On paper, the numbers look promising. More women are entering agricultural education than before. But that momentum fades quickly once they step out of campus.
“Despite a steady rise in the number of women graduating from agricultural universities, their absorption into formal agribusiness roles remains limited due to a persistent gap between education and employability.”
The issue is not access. It is readiness.
“While academic pathways have expanded access, they do not always equip candidates with the level of applied, industry-ready capabilities that agribusiness roles require.”
Mutreja points to a familiar but unresolved problem. Graduates know agriculture, but not necessarily agribusiness.
“In practice, graduates often need stronger exposure to real-world business contexts, particularly in areas such as sales execution, customer engagement, and a working understanding of agricultural value chains, before they can transition effectively into professional roles.”
The result is a system where supply is rising, but absorption is not keeping pace.
Where the transition actually breaks
If this were a single gap, it would be easier to solve. It is not.
Mutreja describes a multi-point breakdown:
- Skills are theoretical, not applied
- Roles expect immediate performance, not learning
- Hiring systems are fragmented
- Structural barriers persist for women
She starts with the most immediate issue.
“Even when students have strong academic grounding, they often lack exposure to how agribusiness functions in practice, including working with farmers, understanding distribution systems, and operating in a target-driven environment.”
Then comes the shock of the first job.
“Entry-level roles are often structured for immediate performance, with limited emphasis on structured onboarding or capability building, resulting in a steep transition from campus to field environments.”
The hiring system does not help either.
“Agribusiness has traditionally relied on decentralised hiring models, while structured early career pipelines are still evolving.”
And then there is the data, which is difficult to ignore:
- Women contribute 60–80% of agricultural labour
- They form 30–50% of agricultural students
- But only 6–10% of agribusiness employees
- And less than 13% of leadership roles
“Factors such as limited access to professional networks, the absence of visible role models, and concerns related to safety and mobility in field roles further constrain career progression.”
In other words, the problem is not entry alone. It is continuity, confidence, and structure.
The curriculum problem nobody talks about enough
The disconnect begins earlier than hiring.
“There is a clear opportunity to strengthen alignment between agricultural education curricula and the requirements of modern agribusiness organisations.”
Agricultural education, Mutreja says, still leans heavily towards theory.
“Agribusiness roles today require a broader mix of capabilities, including commercial acumen, sales capability, communication, and stakeholder management, which are not always adequately integrated into traditional curricula.”
The imbalance is visible.
“Current curricula remain heavily oriented towards theoretical learning, with students often experiencing significantly greater emphasis on classroom instruction compared to practical exposure.”
Which leads to a predictable outcome.
“Many students require structured skilling support to bridge the gap between academic preparation and workplace expectations before they can contribute effectively in professional roles.”
The reality of the job itself
Even when candidates are ready, the job may not be.
Agribusiness roles are not desk jobs. They are rooted in the field.
“A large proportion of agribusiness roles are field-intensive or shopfloor-based, requiring travel, mobility, and deployment in rural and non-urban locations.”
That reality shapes participation, especially for women.
“The rural orientation of agribusiness, combined with the travel requirements and the absence of adequate infrastructure and facilities in certain locations, can act as a deterrent, particularly for women.”
There are early signs of change.
“Organisations are strengthening infrastructure, investing in sensitisation, and introducing more structured onboarding approaches to better support early career talent.”
At Godrej Agrovet, this shift is visible.
“Women’s representation has increased from 8 per cent to ~15 per cent, reflecting a shift from intent to sustained organisational change.”
Hiring is changing, but not fast enough
The industry is beginning to rethink how it hires.
“Historically, hiring in agribusiness has been experience-led and decentralised, with limited formalised entry pathways for early career talent.”
Now, structured models are emerging.
“There is a clear shift towards building more structured pipelines, particularly in areas such as sales and manufacturing.”
But the transition is incomplete.
“These models are still evolving in scale and consistency.”
The system is moving, but not yet at the speed required to fix the gap.
The one lever that actually works
If there is one intervention that consistently improves outcomes, it is exposure.
“Early exposure to real world environments is one of the most critical enablers of employability in agribusiness.”
It changes both capability and perception.
“This significantly strengthens confidence, improves practical decision making, and enhances overall job readiness.”
It also changes how women see the sector.
“Early interaction with experienced women professionals helps address perception barriers by reinforcing that these roles are both accessible and achievable.”
What needs to change now
Mutreja is clear that incremental fixes will not be enough.
“Addressing this gap will require a more integrated, ecosystem level approach that aligns education, industry, and on ground realities.”
That means:
- Embedding field exposure into education
- Building structured entry pathways in companies
- Redesigning roles for accessibility and sustainability
- Strengthening safety and infrastructure
- Creating visible role models and leadership pipelines
And most importantly, fixing the pipeline itself.
“Internal hiring efforts alone cannot resolve the representation challenge unless the pipeline feeding into the sector is strengthened.”
Her conclusion is blunt.
“The gap in women’s participation in formal agricultural careers begins at the transition from education to employment and closing it will depend on coordinated action across stakeholders to create a more seamless and predictable pathway from learning to livelihood.”
This is not just a diversity issue. It is a productivity issue.
An industry that depends on women’s labour cannot afford to exclude them from its formal workforce.
The talent exists. The intent exists. The missing piece is the system that connects the two.