The Global Gender Parity Sprint by the World Economic Forum, a public–private initiative to accelerate economic gender equality by 2030. India, however, stands at the edge of a paradox: one of the world’s largest pools of educated women and a labor market not yet aligned to absorb their potential.

As part of the Viksit Bharat vision to raise female labour force participation to 55% by 2030, India begins from a position of strength, being one of the few developing economies to achieve near educational parity. So Avtar explored the societal, organizational, and institutional advantages India Inc can leverage, while outlining coordinated actions for organizations, institutions, and policymakers to close persistent gaps and accelerate gender parity.

Avtar’s whitepaper, Global Gender Parity Sprint-Why India’s race is harder, is built on Avtar’s 25 years of expertise and research. This paper draws insights from Avtar & Seramount’s Best Companies for Women in India listing, the Top Cities for Women in India study, and the 2025 nationwide study Why We Work to uncover key patterns and to guide organizations in accelerating gender parity in India.