The Best Companies for Women in India (BCWI), a gender analytics launched by Avtar in association with Seramount in 2016, captures the growing intentionality among companies to create a supportive workplace for women to enter the workforce, thrive, and grow.
Since its inception, the holistic approach towards diversity, equity, and inclusion has been evident in parameters like gender mix, career advancement opportunities, pay parity, and mentoring, witnessing an uptick year on year.
Here are some snapshots from the Top 100 Best Companies for Women in India Report released recently. It indicates the steady and consistent journey of the BCWI towards creating safe, secure, and supportive workplaces for women through a combination of efforts.
Women in the workforce: Women’s representation in the 100 Best Companies continues to increase. Among the 2022–100 Best, 34.8% of the workforce are women, up from 34.5% in 2021, and 34% in 2020— an approximate 10% rise from 25% in 2016.
Entry-level talent: The representation of women at entry levels continues to increase (from 33% in 2016 to 38% in 2022).
Mentoring: There has been an uptick in the number of companies offering initiatives for diversity, equity, and inclusion – the percentage of companies that offer mentoring has increased from 75% in 2016 to 98% in 2022.
Career sponsorship: Career sponsorship, which was offered by only 45% in 2016, is being extended by 79% in 2022. In 2016, 56% of the 100 Best offered management and leadership training. The same has risen to 100% in 2022, indicating a rise in the number of companies investing in women’s career advancement.
Gender pay parity: Another priority for the top 2022-100 Best, 86% of these companies have mechanisms to measure and benchmark gender pay equity, showing that 100 Best companies consider pay parity as a pre-requisite for gender inclusion. While in 2016, 14% of the Top 20% earners in the 100 Best were women, this comes close to 20% in 2022.
The BCWI findings over the years have shone the light on the action and steps initiated by the companies. An array of them are pushing the boundaries for a diverse and inclusive India Inc and the number is growing year on year. The DEI rigor and focus prove that they are keen on converting challenges into opportunities. They have set the benchmark for other DEI aspirants across industries to emulate
If you wish to be part of the BCWI study to ascertain the effectiveness of your DEI strategy, register now for the 2023 Avtar and Seramount Best Companies for Women in India (BCWI) here
