HR policies and practices like flexible working hours, parental leave and anti-harassment have helped in bringing more women into India’s IT sector, industry body National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) has said. The report titled ‘Women and IT Scorecard — India’ by Nasscom and The Open University (United Kingdom) said the number of firms with women employees accounting for 20 per cent of the senior-level positions was expected to touch nearly 60 per cent this year. “In 2017, it is estimated that the number of firms that have women holding more than 20 per cent of senior-level positions will increase to nearly 60 per cent, and nearly 51 per cent of the firms will have more than 20 per cent of women at C-suite level,” it said.
The Indian IT sector was heading in the right direction towards recruiting and retaining more women in leadership roles, it added.
The report said the efforts of companies and stakeholders had 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,” it added. The report found corporations with women accounting for at least 10 per cent of the Board have 2.5 to 5 per cent higher returns on equity. Also, firms where women account for at least 30 per cent of C-suite have 15 per cent higher profitability than others. India’s IT-BPM industry currently employs nearly 3.9 million people, of which over 34 per cent are women (about 1.3 million). “The idea of this report is to bring to the forefront, measures and policies supporting women’s progression at the workplace, and the need for the entire industry to come together to provide opportunities and support required for their successful career advancement within the sector,” Nasscom senior vice-president Sangeeta Gupta said.
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