Indian workplaces are gradually advancing towards achieving gender parity, as indicated by a study from ManpowerGroup India.
The study, which surveyed 3,150 employees, found that the IT sector is at the forefront with a 58% diversity ratio. This is followed by the healthcare, life sciences, and real estate sectors, each with a 54% diversity ratio. In contrast, sectors such as consumer goods and services lag behind, with only a 34% diversity ratio.
MD, ManpowerGroup India and Middle East, Sandeep Gulati, said, “India’s gender diversity is among the best worldwide and it is encouraging to see women’s participation in the workforce increasing at a rapid pace. Organisations have realigned their hiring strategies by mandating hiring of women at every level across sectors.”
He noted that the combination of technology and specialized programs designed to reintegrate women who had taken extended career breaks has significantly contributed to improved gender parity.
Some of the key findings of the study are:
– Building trust—Over half (58%) of the respondents confirmed that building trustworthy relationships with teams within the organization is helping boost the recruitment and retention of all genders more equitably. The other factors that contributed to this growth are employee well-being (57%) and recognizing employees for contributing to a positive culture (54%).
– Learnability—Four in 10 organisations (43%) reported that leadership development programmes are effectively attracting people with diverse backgrounds.
– Tech Innovation—80% of employers said new technology has helped them be more flexible, promoting more gender equality, while 74% said that tech is diversifying their IT talent pipelines.
– Pay parity—Over half (58%) of respondents reported that pay parity initiatives are on schedule, while the remaining 32% are behind schedule and 10% have no initiatives. IT (65%), communications services (60%), and healthcare and life sciences (60%) topped the list in terms of pay parity.
– Uneven representation by role—Efforts to expand the number of women candidates vary by role type, with administrative (57%), front-line management (55%), and operational (55%) positions leading the way. Less female representation was seen in top-level management roles (49%) followed by science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) (53%) and mid-level management (53%).
ManpowerGroup, based on the findings, recommended several key strategies to engage more women by promoting women’s allyship, utilizing the internal talent marketplace, focusing on upskilling and reskilling, offering flexible benefits, and supporting diversity and inclusion initiatives.
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