Women’s participation in tech workforce to grow 24.3% by 2027: report

Women's participation in the tech workforce at global capability centres is predicted to rise from 25% currently to 35% by 2027, according to a report by tech staffing and solutions provider TeamLease Digital.

Global capability centres are the offshore units of multinational corporations that perform a range of strategic functions.

Currently, women constitute 35% of the workforce at these centres, with a predominant 81% in IT roles, 16% in operations, 2% in marketing, and approximately 1% in finance, says the report.

The report titled 'Women at the Heart of India’s Digital Evolution' offers insights into diverse aspects including the total women’s tech workforce in India, women’s employment in global capability centres and in the non-tech sector, city-wise trends of women workforce expansion, in-demand and futuristic tech roles for women, and challenges faced by women in tech.

In its future outlook, the report projects that women’s participation in tech, across all levels (entry/freshers, junior, mid-senior, leadership, and C-suite roles), will see an increase of 24.3% by 2027.

The report also points out that the next five years will be critical for the country to attain an 8% GDP growth rate and women must account for more than half of the new workforce generated by 2030.

Gender disparity

While women’s contributions to the tech industry have been phenomenal, compared to the predicted percentage of males in the industry, which stands at 36.1 lakh, there are significantly fewer women—20.5 lakh—as of 2024.

Reasons for this include low educational enrolment among young women, lack of quality opportunities, gender pay gap, safety concerns, societal norms, discriminatory workplace practices, and lack of upskilling/reskilling as well as return-to-work policies.

Other highlights

The report also offers a glimpse into tech women's participation in non-tech sectors.

According to findings, on an average, more than 40% of women would be hired for both non-tech and tech-related positions in the BFSI, manufacturing, consumer, and retail sectors by FY2025. The average number of women in tech positions in non-tech companies is projected to rise by 9%.

The percentage of women joining the workforce from Tier I cities (55%) outnumbers women from Tier II cities. Female hiring is projected to centre in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Gujarat in the coming months, with talent being hired in locations such as Chennai, Pune, Nasik, Coimbatore, Kochi, Aurangabad, and Vadodara.

Currently, in the manufacturing segment, Tamil Nadu accounts for 43% of the total female workforce.

The report also reveals the comparison of gender representation across all hierarchical levels.

The fresher level has the highest concentration of women at 34%. However, this percentage gradually declines as the hierarchy rises, with 26% women at the junior level (3-5 years experience), 18% at the mid-senior level (5-15 years experience), 11% in leadership roles (15-20 years experience), and a mere 8% at the C-suite/boardroom level.

According to the report, jobs that will be highly sought after in future by women will be tech roles such as quantum computing scientist, blockchain developer, AI ethics officer, AI researcher, cybersecurity analyst, 5G technology specialist, sustainability in tech expert, smart city technology planner, and edge computing specialist.

Need to increase women's participation in tech

The report recommends promoting STEM education for girls, implementing gender-sensitive hiring practices, creating inclusive workplace cultures, encouraging mentorship and networking, addressing the wage gap, enhancing legal and policy frameworks, and establishing accountability mechanisms to increase women’s participation in the workforce.

Neeti Sharma, Chief Executive Officer of TeamLease Digital, said, “Our comprehensive report delves deep into the present scenario of women in the professional realm. With only 0.5% of the total female workforce engaged in tech roles in non-tech sectors, there is a pressing need to amplify female participation in this domain."

She went on to say, "Having said that, the tech sector is increasingly prioritising the employment of women and India’s women’s STEM participation stands at 43% globally which is the highest in the world.”