INDIAN IT SECTOR LEADS THE WOMEN EMPLOYMENT LANDSCAPE WITH MORE WOMEN EMPLOYEES IN LEADERSHIP ROLES

Launches Women and IT Scorecard report in partnership with The Open University at NASSCOM Diversity and Inclusion summit 2017
Bengaluru, February 27, 2017: With focus to accelerate the diversity and inclusion across the technology industry at large, the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) today organized the 10th edition of NASSCOM Diversity & Inclusion Summit 2017 at ITC Gardenia, Bengaluru. On the side-lines of the summit, NASSCOM launched a report in partnership with The Open University (UK) titled “Women and IT Scorecard – India”, in order to comprehend the profile of women in the Indian IT-BPM industry.

The report aims to determine and understand the differences in participation rates between women and men in the IT-BPM workforce in India, and also benchmarks these within an international context. In 2017, it is estimated that the number of firms that have more than 20% women at senior level will increase to nearly 60%, and nearly 51% of firms will have more than 20% of women at C-suite level. Overall, the report unveils that the Indian IT sector is heading in the right direction toward recruiting and retaining more women in leadership roles. The efforts of the companies and stakeholders have been a contributing factor in achieving the growth in the number of women in India’s IT sector. Furthermore, specific HR policies and practices such as conveyance, flexible working hours, parental leave, anti-harassment, healthcare, and an emphasis on recognising and supporting women’s needs have led to the positive trend.

Speaking at the occasion, Ms. Sangeeta Gupta, Senior Vice President, NASSCOM said, “India’s IT-BPM industry currently employs nearly 3.9 million people, of which over 34% are women (~1.3 million). The idea of this report is to bring to the forefront, measures and policies supporting women’s progression in at the workplace and the need for the entire industry to come together provide opportunities and support required for their successful career advancement within the sector. This report can be used by the IT-BPM industry as a scorecard to benchmark their gender inclusive policies and practices”.

Mr. Peter Horrocks CBE, Vice Chancellor of the Open University UK, said, “We are pleased to present the women in IT Scorecard India report at the NASSCOM Diversity and Inclusion Summit. With this initiative, we hope to learn from the Indian experience where the proportion of women is much higher. We also hope this report will support the implementation of gender equality policies and practice in numerous organizations”.

The report gives an analysis of women’s representation in the IT-BPM workforce in India and also includes an overview of the participation of women in Computer Science and IT related subjects in Higher Education. With ‘Crystal ball gazing: D&I in 2020 and beyond in a connected world’ as the core theme, the summit witnessed thought leaders, policy makers, CEOs, HR heads and professionals sharing insights on diversity in the technology industry workforce worldwide. With sessions focused on nurturing women leaders in the workplace, the opportunities, issues and challenges, this year’s summit witnessed speakers from all walks of life talking about the organizational initiatives that encourage diversity and inclusion across the industry.