Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
Speaking at CNBC-TV18’s Future Female Forward event, Info Edge co-founder Sanjeev Bikhchandani said the gender ratio in India’s top talent pool is declining, noting that the share of women in companies has declined to 40% from 50% a decade ago as technology and sales roles – where women are under-represented – have expanded.
“Your best colleges should admit more women,” she said, adding that management and engineering institutions continue to lean heavily on men, limiting the senior-leadership pipeline for the next two decades.
According to Ritu Arora, country head for India at Allianz Investment Management, BFSIs are relatively more balanced when it comes to worker gender ratio.
However, Arora said that subject choices at the school level are narrowing down future talents, with one of her primary concerns being that very few girls choose the science stream during school. “Most girls obviously prefer to choose a subject like humanities. I’m sure it’s an individual choice, but then there’s this pipeline which is already very thin, so obviously they are not going into these technical courses and are not prepared for the kind of roles that are now emerging in India.”
Manufacturing is facing huge losses. Nairika Holkar, executive director of Godrej & Boyce, said women constitute just 11% of the company’s workforce.
They cited cultural biases, limited flexibility and perceptions around shop-floor work as major barriers, although automation has enabled higher female participation in consumer appliances and locks divisions.
Banks report similar declines mid-career. Ajay Sharma, managing director of HSBC India, said despite almost balanced entry groups, the proportion of women at senior levels has declined sharply. Returnship programs, data-driven hiring and targeted mentorship have helped, she said, but women entrepreneurs still get far less credit than men.
Mona Khandar, principal secretary in the Gujarat government, said her experience as a woman in the bureaucracy has shown that structural change requires long-term planning, tight coordination and constant interaction across departments.
He cited Gujarat’s recent space-tech policy as an example of inter-departmental alignment, noting that the state ranked first after identifying investors, skills gaps and “low-hanging fruits”, thereby inspiring rival states to follow suit.
Rajesh Nambiar, CMD, Cognizant India, outlined a multi-tiered program focused on early career navigation, managerial training, leadership development and returnship. The firm’s “Shakti” initiative has trained thousands of women and aims to reduce dropouts at various career stages.
Also read: Female workforce gain stalled at 18%: Leaders call for protection, policy reform and cultural reset
first published: November 25, 2025 8:55 pm Is