- New results from the Udaiti Foundation's Women's Formal Employment Tracker for FY 2023–2024 have been made public
- Under Udaiti's Close the Gender Gap (CGG) Initiative, the report has been released for four years running
As part of its flagship Close the Gender Gap (CGG) initiative, the Udaiti Foundation has released the most recent results from the Women's Formal Employment Tracker for FY 2023–2024. The report, which has been in place for four years in a row, shows that women's representation in formal employment has remained stagnant at 18 percent, a slight decrease of 0.6 percent from the year before.
Only 2.4 million of the 13.4 million employees are women, according to data gathered from the annual reports of 1,256 NSE-listed companies and SEBI-mandated Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR).
This flat line in formal employment representation highlights systemic barriers, even though the Female Labour Force Participation Rate (FLFPR) increased to 41.7 percent. India's economic goals, including reaching a $30 trillion economy, are in jeopardy unless these demand-side barriers are resolved through evidence-based action, stressed Pooja Goyal, the founding CEO of Udaiti. By assisting corporates in converting intent into quantifiable progress, the CGG report seeks to direct this transition.
The rise in gender data reporting among NSE-listed companies, which increased from 52 percent the year before to 57 percent in FY 2023–2024, is one indication of progress. Only five industries—Banks (26 percent) and Hospitals & Labs (41 percent), Textiles (36 percent), IT (34 percent), and Consumer Services (30 percent)—have surpassed the 20 percent mark, meaning that women's representation in all industries is still below 50 percent.
Even these industries have stagnated, and women are still disproportionately underrepresented in sectors like construction, power, and industrial products, frequently as a result of hostile work and manufacturing environments.
The same is true of leadership positions. Just 46 percent of businesses had more than one woman on their board, despite 98 percent having at least one. At the Key Management Positions (KMP) level, where only 10 percent of businesses had more than one woman, the disparity is even more pronounced. Instead of a true shift toward equity, this demonstrates a compliance-driven mindset toward gender inclusion at the top.
Pay disparities are still a problem. Male employees made an average of ₹774,100 per year in FY 2023–2024, compared to ₹722,100 for female employees, a 7 percent difference. Men made an average of ₹12.3 million at the board level, while women made an average of ₹6.5 million. The largest pay disparity, averaging ₹3.2 lakh per year, was found in the IT sector.
The study also discusses trends in return to work after parental leave, revealing that women return to work at a rate of 94 percent while men do so at a rate of 98 percent. However, only 37 percent of women and 25 percent of men have access to childcare facilities, indicating that access to supportive infrastructure are still low.
POSH laws saw a 38 percent increase in sexual harassment complaints, with the banking industry reporting the most (633 cases) and the media sector having the highest complaint rate per 1,000 women (7.1). The 36 percent increase in pending cases highlights the need to fortify redressal mechanisms, even as this increase reflects increased awareness and better systems.
It is evident from this year's report's findings that gradual change is no longer adequate. To eliminate systemic hiring biases, eliminate pay disparities, and develop care and safety infrastructure, India must take decisive action. In order to realize India's $30 trillion economy vision and reach 70 percent female workforce participation by 2047, Udaiti wants to provide businesses and policymakers with practical strategies to increase women's formal employment representation from 18 percent to 30 percent within the next five years.
