When it comes to women’s inclusivity, Indian cities on average scored just 37.75 out of 100 in a newly released report. The study Top Cities for Women In India, released by Avtar, a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) consulting firm, ranked 111 big and small cities on their social and industrial inclusivity for women. 

“This is a clear indication that there is a lot of room for improvement for the majority of the cities across the country,” the report says. Only nine out of 111 cities scored above 50 in the city inclusion score (CIS), which is the average of the social inclusion score (SIS) and industrial inclusion score (SIS).

To calculate SIS, the parameters include the Ease of Living Report by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affair, the Crime in India report by the National Crime Records Bureau, the Periodic Labour Force Survey and Census documents to understand women’s representation in the workforce, and the women empowerment initiatives undertaken by each State government. To calculate industrial inclusion, the study looked at the density of gender-inclusive organisations, industries and career enablers like creche facilities and mental health consultation services. This data is based on Avtar’s own research. The study was conducted between November 2021 and 2022.

According to the report, Chennai is the most inclusive city for women in India, with a CIS of 78.41. The others that scored well — above 60 — are Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Mumbai, in that order. Lucknow ranks the lowest at 25.36. Ranchi, Guwahati, Patna and Dhanbad also scored poorly.

Among small cities (population less than a million), Tiruchirappalli tops with a score of 71.61, followed by Vellore, Erode, Salem and Tiruppur. Interestingly, the toppers in both categories are from Tamil Nadu. Among small cities,Kavaratti, Muzaffarpur, Satna, Rampur and Bhagalpur scored the least at 17.74, 18.35, 18.66, 19.05 and 19.19, respectively.

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The report notes that the Southern region topped overall, followed by the West. “While the Southern region scores an average of 46.17, the West scores 41.13. The North Indian cities come third with an average of 36.03, closely followed by Central region at 31.17 and finally by East at 29.43.”

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