The participation rate of women in finance and related fields is steadily decreasing in India. On average, only one woman is included in the workforce for every eight men. This information has been obtained from the study of 134 companies by the CFA Institute.
The global non-profit body of investment professionals in its ‘Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report’ (BRSR) for the year 2021-22 (FY22) analyzed the disclosures made by 134 listed firms.
This BRSR framework includes the stability disclosures mandated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in the year 2021. In this, Indian companies were asked to provide information on the composition of the workforce, salaries, attrition rates and gender breakdown, among other factors. These disclosures are voluntary for FY22 and mandatory for top 1,000 companies from FY2022-23.
The study found that career advancement for women was lower in sectors with large workforce and participation rates, such as information technology and financial services, compared to other sectors. For example, in the case of companies in the financial services sector, women represented 21.7 percent of employees and 15.9 percent of key management personnel.
Rajendra Kaloor, Chairperson, CFA Society India, said women in India face many additional barriers in their careers and assessing multiple gender-related parameters in the workplace is a great start to understanding these issues.
