There has been a 35% surge in jobs for women candidates in India’s white-collar sector in February this year as compared to the corresponding period in 2022.

According to the findings of foundit (formerly Monster APAC & ME), the highest demand share of women in the workforce is currently held by the ITES/BPO (36%) industry, followed by IT/Computers-Software (35%), and Banking/Accounting/Financial Services (22%).

In terms of geographic distribution, the highest percentage of jobs available for women can be found in metropolitan cities such as Delhi NCR (21%), Mumbai (15%), and Bangalore (10%), followed by cities like Chennai (9%) and Pune (7%).

Thanks to the introduction of women-friendly policies such as menstrual leaves and childcare, introducing programs to fight bias in the workplace, allowing flexibility at work, and diversity-focused hiring, among others that led to increased participation of women in the workforce. It has also been observed that women who dropped out of work during the pandemic to become full-time caregivers have now re-joined the workforce.

The highest demand share of women in the workforce is currently held by the ITES/BPO (36%) industry, followed by IT/Computers-Software (35%), and Banking/Accounting/Financial Services (22%). In terms of geographic distribution, the highest percentage of jobs available for women can be found in metropolitan cities such as Delhi NCR (21%), Mumbai (15%), and Bangalore (10%), followed by cities like Chennai (9%) and Pune (7%).

It is also interesting to note that 6% of the total women workforce on the platform are those who have taken a career break and returned to work. Moreover, freelance roles account for 4% of the total jobs for women, indicating a rise in gig-based opportunities in the white-collar economy.

Commenting on gender parity in the workforce, Sekhar Garisa, CEO, foundit, said, "There have been many economic success stories of women in the last 50 years, but one of the biggest has been the stride they have made in the labour market. Female workers have shown themselves to be hard-working, creative, collaborative and highly competitive. Women leaders worldwide have made headlines for how well they managed to stay afloat in times of great crisis. But there is still work to be done and miles to walk. There is a radical need for increasing women participation in the workforce across all sectors if we were to achieve our dream of becoming a 5 trillion-dollar nation. Companies need to innovate their work modes to ensure flexibility, actively work to foster an inclusive workplace, and ensure that diversity extends beyond their hiring pamphlet."

Gender diversity in the workforce

According to online hiring trends by foundit, the IT/BPO sector holds the greatest share of available opportunities for women, at 36%, reflecting the growing awareness of gender parity in the workplace. Organizations have also realized that a diverse workforce boosts business performance while driving innovation and growth, enabling greater hiring for women in the technology sector. IT/Computer-Software (35%) has the second highest share, followed by Banking/Financial Services/Accounting (22%).

The expansion of the tech sector in India has been unrivalled, with organisations across the spectrum focusing on customer-centricity and digitisation. The penetration of digital banking services and easy credit availability has also fuelled the growth of the BFSI sector. The proliferation of technology in these sectors has created an urgent need for upskilled talent.

There has also been a significant increase in job postings for female candidates in sectors such as recruitment/staffing/HRO (20% share) and hospital/healthcare/diagnostics (8% share).

People-centred roles remain popular among women

As per data from foundit, the job roles with the most significant percentage of women are customer service/ call centre/BPO at 25%. IT roles hold the second largest share at 23%, followed by HR roles at 18% and sales/ business development at 12%. Interestingly, jobs with people-centric roles have a higher demand for women professionals .

Room for growth for female leadership in India Inc.

Across experience levels, women in leadership hold 8% of the total share, indicating a great scope for more growth and inclusivity at workplaces. Women's participation remains highest for intermediate-level roles (24% share for professionals with 3-5 years of experience), followed by freshers (18% share for professionals with 1 – 3 years of experience).