SBI Aims to Increase Women Workforce to 30% in Next Five Years

By: WE staff | Monday, 13 October 2025

• The SBI provides for an increase in the representation of women in its work force to 30% over a period of 5 years
• Currently, women account for roughly 33% of the workforce at the front lines of operations and represent 27% of all employees within the state bank

The State Bank of India (SBI), which is India's largest lender, said it plans to roll out a gender diversity programme to achieve 30 percent women in its workforce over the next five years.

SBI Deputy Managing Director (HR) & Chief Development Officer Kishore Kumar Poludasu said women form about 27 percent of total employees and approximately 33 percent at frontline levels and the bank is pushing the percentage up to reach its medium-term target.

SBI is committed to developing a workplace wherein women can thrive at all levels. Initiatives are focused on enabling leadership, work-life balance, and workplace dignity.

Some of the initiatives include creche allowances for working mothers, a family connects initiative, as well as training designed to assist employees returning from maternity leave, sabbaticals, or extended sick leave.

The bank's flagship initiative, Empower Her, provides structured leadership labs and coaching sessions to identify, mentor and groom women into leadership positions, while creating a robust pipeline of future women leaders.

By understanding the health needs of women, SBI has launched focused initiatives like breast and cervical cancer screenings, pregnant staff nutrition allowances, and a cervical cancer vaccination program.

The Bank believes in fostering an inclusive, secure and safe working environment for women employees to help them realize their full potential. Presently, SBI has about 340 branches that are entirely run by women, which the Bank claims to increase even more in future

Women employees are spread throughout geographies and levels in the hierarchy, indicating SBI is committed to inclusively. The bank also keeps a talent pool of IT specialist officers for the institution to flow securely, quickly and innovatively.

SBI is one of the top 50 banks globally by asset size; the bank recognizes them as a leading employer. The bank is systematically enacting the use of technology and evolving customer expectations to spur innovations regarding processes, operations, and customer experience while demonstrating agility to meet the challenges of a changing business environment.