A recent study points out that increasing the number of working Indian women by another 10 per cent by 2025 (68 million more women), from the 23.5 per cent of women in the workforce today, can increase India’s GDP by 16 per cent, said Subha Barry, Managing Director, Working Mother Media, US.

Speaking at the awards ceremony for the Best Companies for Women in India 2017, Barry said: “A gender diverse work force also means greater innovation and better employer branding followed by access to wider customer markets.”

The awards, given by Working Mother Media in association with the Chennai-based Avtar Group, rewarded the top 100 companies in India that are the best for women to work in. The top 10 companies were present at an awards function held here on Thursday.

Women take the lead

Barry quoted some statistics from the data collected during the initiative: 15 per cent of this year’s winning companies in India are led by women CEOs, compared to just 6.4 per cent of women heading US Fortune 500 companies.

In the US 100 Best list, only 11 per cent of CEOs are women, she pointed out to a loud applause.

Compared with last year, the representation of women in the workforce of the 100 Best companies in India rose from 25 per cent to 30 per cent, while 36 per cent of all new hires in 2017 in these companies have been women.

The awards, she said, showcase and celebrate best practices from India’s best employers to foster women’s career advancement.

The top 10 Best Companies for Women in India 2017 are: Accenture Solutions Pvt Ltd; Deloitte India; EY; IBM India Pvt Ltd; Northern Trust Bank; People Combine Educational Initiatives Ltd; Procter & Gamble; Schneider India Markets Pvt Ltd and Tata Consultancy Services.

The selection was based on data spanning seven key policy clusters such as workforce profile, flexible work, women’s recruitment and retention, benefits, paid-time, company culture and safety and security.

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