Careernet, a leading talent solutions provider in India, has released its annual report, “The State of Women’s Employment in India,” offering valuable insights into the evolving landscape of women’s participation in the workforce.
Analyzing over 30,000 placement samples per year from 2019 to 2024, the report highlights trends in women’s employment, including sectoral participation, city-wise hiring, and opportunities across experience levels.
It reflects a positive trajectory toward inclusivity while shedding light on areas requiring further attention.
Commenting on the findings, Neelabh Shkula, Chief Business Officer of Careernet, highlighted the evolving landscape of women’s employment.
He remarked, “The rise in women’s hiring across startups and Tier-II cities underscores a positive shift toward inclusivity. Careernet’s report signals a positive future for women in the workforce.”
Neelabh added, “We remain committed to creating meaningful change by being a catalyst for women joining or rejoining the workforce across sectors.”
Key Findings of Careernet Report: Growth in Women’s Workforce Participation
The report reveals a steady increase in women’s placements over the past six years, growing from 26% in 2019 to 32% in 2024—a 6 percentage point rise.
This marks a significant achievement, with one in three candidates placed by Careernet now being a woman.
The last two years have demonstrated consistent progress, solidifying the highest representation of women in six years.
Location-Wise Trends in Hiring
The report presents noteworthy shifts in the geographic distribution of female hiring:
- Top Cities in 2024: Bengaluru (32%), Delhi/NCR (28%), and Hyderabad (27%) emerged as leaders in hiring women professionals.
- Declining Trends in Hyderabad: While Hyderabad had dominated in previous years (34% in 2022), it has seen a decline in female placements. Similarly, Pune (33% in 2022) and Chennai (30% in 2022) no longer top the charts.
- Upward Trends in Delhi/NCR: A positive shift has been observed in Delhi/NCR, with placements rising from 22% in 2022 to 28% in 2024.
- Tier-II Cities: Hiring in Tier-II cities has also seen steady growth, registering a 5 percentage point increase over the past three years.
On the other hand, Mumbai recorded the lowest percentage of female candidate placements among Tier-I cities in 2024, at just 25%.
Industry-Wise Insights
Certain sectors have been instrumental in driving gender diversity:
- BFSI GCCs: The banking, financial services, and insurance sector continues to lead in women’s hiring, with consistent growth from 40% in 2022 to 44% in 2024.
- IT Services: Women’s participation in IT services has stabilized at 29–30%, indicating sustained efforts toward inclusivity.
- Startups: Demonstrating a proactive approach to diversity, startups have shown remarkable improvement, with a 9 percentage point increase in women’s hiring between 2022 and 2024.
- Domestic Enterprises: In contrast, domestic enterprises faced a decline of around 5 percentage points in female hiring in 2024 compared to the previous year.
These sectoral shifts underline the commitment of specific industries while signaling the need for greater efforts across all domains.
Experience Level Distribution
The report provides a detailed breakdown of hiring across experience levels:
- Freshers: While freshers continue to dominate women’s placements, there was a 2% decline in 2024 compared to the previous year.
- Mid-Level Roles: Placement figures for women with 3–12 years of experience have remained stable, ranging between 23% and 27%.
- Senior Positions: Despite a slight 1% drop in 2024, the long-term trend indicates growing opportunities for women in leadership, with a 2 percentage point increase since 2022.
Note: We are also on WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Google News, and YouTube, to get the latest news updates, Subscribe to our Channels. WhatsApp– Click Here, Google News– Click Here, YouTube – Click Here, and LinkedIn– Click Here.
