Quick Takes

Published: March 2011

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Population

• There are an estimated 1,173,108,018 people living in India, which makes it the second most populous country in the world, following China.¹
• Women are 48.1% of the population of India.²
• There is a gender gap at birth. For every 100 girls born, there are 112 boys born; this gap is even wider in some regions. ³
• Of all ages, the gender gap is 100 females for every 106 males. ⁴
• India’s religions play a strong role in its culture and people, and the large majority of Indians are Hindu.⁵

• The Caste System goes back thousands of years, and continues to influence choices and access. The castes, from highest to lowest status, include:
  • Brahmin⁷
  • Kshatriya⁸
  • Vaisyas⁹
  • Sudras¹⁰
  • The Dalits/Untouchables (considered below or outside the caste)¹¹

  Educational Achievement

• Of those ages 15 and up, just 49.6% of females were literate compared to 73.6% of males.¹²
• Men dominate the numbers of those enrolled in higher educational degrees.¹³

Women in the Labour Force

• India’s 2001 Census found that women were 31.6% of all workers.¹⁵
• Women are an estimated 38.2% of all economically active individuals.¹⁶.
• Of women that work in the labor force, only 20% work in urban areas.¹⁷
• Women earn 66% of men’s salary for equal work. ¹⁸
• 26.2% of women compared to 9.0% of men cited a lack of role models as a barrier to advancement.¹⁹

Labour Force Trends and Legislation

• In an effort to recruit more women employees, some companies are offering 25% bonuses for female employee referrals.²⁰
• India ranked towards the bottom of the 134 countries, with a ranking of 114, on the 2009 Global Gender Gap Index.²¹ *
• Women received 12 weeks paid maternity leave. ²²
• The Factories Act of 1948 mandates that employers with 30 or more women employees must provide child care facilities for children under the age of six.²³
• India has a young workforce and population. In the next ten years, due to a flood of younger people entering the workforce, and more women entering the workforce, India expects to add an additional 110 million people to its labour force.²⁴

Management

• Women are just 3% of legislative, management, and senior official positions.²⁵
• Women in management in India face many challenges. Studies have found:
  • women have to work harder to prove themselves;²⁶
  • men do not respect women bosses (and prefer to have them as subordinates as opposed to superiors); ²⁷
  • women are excluded from informal networks.²⁸
• According to one study of ten companies, women were:
  • 34.1% of those at the junior level of the workplace,²⁹
  • 16.2% of those at the middle level, ³⁰
  • 8.2% of those at the senior level. ³¹
• Of 1,112 directorships on the Bombay Stock Exchange 100, just 59 (5.3%) are held by women.³²
• Out of 323 total executive directorship positions (generally considered to be prerequisites to holding the CEO position) on the Bombay Stock Exchange 100, just eight (2.5%) are held by women. ³³
• 54% of companies on the Bombay Stock Exchange 100 have no women board directors. ³⁴
• Despite occupying small percentages of leadership positions, 97.2% of women (compared to 95.6% of men) aspire to jobs with increased responsibility. ³⁵

Women in Government

• In June 2010, India was 96 out of 186 countries of women in Parliaments.^†36

• In the Panchayati Raj system, a new bill has been proposed that gives at least 50% of seats to women, raising from a previous quota of 33%.³⁷
• Five states already offer 50% reservations to women:
  • Bihar³⁸
  • Uttarakhand³⁹
  • Himachal Pradesh⁴⁰
  • Madhya Pradesh⁴¹
  • Chaattisgarh⁴²

Changing Workplaces

• As companies strive to retain valuable female talent, companies are attempting to implement programs to create more women-friendly workplaces. One study of IT companies examined work-life/woman-friendly programs. Some of the most common programs include:
  • Flexible work schedules/hours (68% of respondents) ⁴³
  • Sexual harassment policies (68%)⁴⁴
  • Flexible leave policy (64%)⁴⁵
  • Transportation policy (55%)⁴⁶
  • Health and wellness programs (50%)⁴⁷
  • Day care for children/parenting workshops (27%)⁴⁸
  • Women’s lounge/recreation (23%)⁴⁹
  • Women’s forum /networks (18%)⁵⁰

  * The Global Gender Gap Index is measured by the World Economic Forum. It ranked 130 countries in 2008 on the size of their gender gap between women and men in four areas: economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, political empowerment, and health and survival.

  † Data compiled by the Inter-Parliamentary Union on the basis of information provided by National Parliaments.187 countries are classified by descending order of the percentage of women in the lower or single House.

  Sources

  ¹ CIA, "India," CIA World Factbook (2010). 

  ² CIA, "India," CIA World Factbook (2010). 

  ³ World Economic Forum, The India Gender Gap Review 2009 (2009).

  ⁴ World Economic Forum, The India Gender Gap Review 2009 (2009).

  ⁵ CIA, "India," CIA World Factbook (2010). 

  ⁶ CIA, "India," CIA World Factbook (2010). 

  ⁷ Donald Johnson and Jean Johnson, "Jati: The Caste System in India," The Asia Society (August 19, 2008). 

  ⁸ Donald Johnson and Jean Johnson, "Jati: The Caste System in India," The Asia Society (August 19, 2008). 

  ⁹ Donald Johnson and Jean Johnson, "Jati: The Caste System in India," The Asia Society (August 19, 2008). 

  ¹⁰ Donald Johnson and Jean Johnson, "Jati: The Caste System in India," The Asia Society (August 19, 2008). 

  ¹¹ Donald Johnson and Jean Johnson, "Jati: The Caste System in India," The Asia Society (August 19, 2008). 

  ¹² Government of India, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of Higher Education, Education Statistics at a Glance 2005-2006 (2008).

  ¹³ Government of India, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of Higher Education, Education Statistics at a Glance 2005-2006 (2008).

  ¹⁴ Government of India, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of Higher Education, Education Statistics at a Glance 2005-2006 (2008).

  ¹⁵ Office of Registrar General of India, "Total Workers in India – 2001 Census." 

  ¹⁶ ILO, "Economically Active Population Estimates and Projections 1980-2020" (2009). 

  ¹⁷ NASSCOM and Mercer, Gender Inclusivity in India: Building Empowered Organizations (2009).

  ¹⁸World Economic Forum, "Global Gender Gap Report 2009" (2009). 

  ¹⁹ Deepali Bagati and Nancy M. Carter, Leadership Gap in India Inc.: Myths and Realities (Catalyst, 2010).

  ²⁰ Express India, "Corporate India lures women employees" (April 8, 2008).

  ²¹World Economic Forum, "Global Gender Gap Report 2009" (2009). 

  ²²World Economic Forum, "Global Gender Gap Report 2009" (2009). 

  ²³ Boston College Center for Work and Family, Work-Life in India.

  ²⁴ "India will add 110m people to global workforce by 2020: Study," Deccan Herald (July 28, 2010). 

  ²⁵ World Economic Forum, The India Gender Gap Review 2009 (2009).

  ²⁶ Pawan S. Budhwar, Debi S. Saini, and Jyotsna Bhatnagar, "Women in Management in the New Economic Environment: The Case of India," Asia Pacific Business Review, vol. 11, no. 2 (June 2005): p. 179-193.

  ²⁷ Pawan S. Budhwar, Debi S. Saini, and Jyotsna Bhatnagar, "Women in Management in the New Economic Environment: The Case of India," Asia Pacific Business Review, vol. 11, no. 2 (June 2005): p. 179-193.

  ²⁸ Pawan S. Budhwar, Debi S. Saini, and Jyotsna Bhatnagar, "Women in Management in the New Economic Environment: The Case of India," Asia Pacific Business Review, vol. 11, no. 2 (June 2005): p. 179-193.

  ²⁹ Shalini Mahtani, Anne Marie Francesco, and Winnie Ng, Gender Diversity Benchmark for Asia: China, India, Japan, Singapore (March 2009).

  ³⁰ Shalini Mahtani, Anne Marie Francesco, and Winnie Ng, Gender Diversity Benchmark for Asia: China, India, Japan, Singapore (March 2009).

  ³¹ Shalini Mahtani, Anne Marie Francesco, and Winnie Ng, Gender Diversity Benchmark for Asia: China, India, Japan, Singapore (March 2009).

  ³² Aparna Banerji, Shalini Mahtani, Dr Ruth Sealy, and Professor Susan Vinnicombe, Standard Chartered Bank: Women on Corporate Boards in India (2010). 

  ³³ Aparna Banerji, Shalini Mahtani, Dr Ruth Sealy, and Professor Susan Vinnicombe, Standard Chartered Bank: Women on Corporate Boards in India (2010). 

  ³⁴ Aparna Banerji, Shalini Mahtani, Dr Ruth Sealy, and Professor Susan Vinnicombe, Standard Chartered Bank: Women on Corporate Boards in India (2010). 

  ³⁵ Deepali Bagati and Nancy M. Carter, Leadership Gap in India Inc.: Myths and Realities (Catalyst, 2010).

  ³⁶ Inter-Parliamentary Union, "Women in National Parliaments" (June 30, 2010). 

  ³⁷ "50% quota for women in all tiers of panchayati raj," Infochange.

  ³⁸ "Quota for women in panchayats to be raised to 50%" The Times of India (August 28, 2010). 

  ³⁹ "Quota for women in panchayats to be raised to 50%" The Times of India (August 28, 2010). 

  ⁴⁰ "Quota for women in panchayats to be raised to 50%" The Times of India (August 28, 2010). 

  ⁴¹ "Quota for women in panchayats to be raised to 50%" The Times of India (August 28, 2010). 

  ⁴² "Quota for women in panchayats to be raised to 50%" The Times of India (August 28, 2010). 

  ⁴³ NASSCOM and Mercer, Gender Inclusivity in India: Building Empowered Organizations (2009).

  ⁴⁴ NASSCOM and Mercer, Gender Inclusivity in India: Building Empowered Organizations (2009).

  ⁴⁵ NASSCOM and Mercer, Gender Inclusivity in India: Building Empowered Organizations (2009).

  ⁴⁶ NASSCOM and Mercer, Gender Inclusivity in India: Building Empowered Organizations (2009).

  ⁴⁷ NASSCOM and Mercer, Gender Inclusivity in India: Building Empowered Organizations (2009).

  ⁴⁸ NASSCOM and Mercer, Gender Inclusivity in India: Building Empowered Organizations (2009).

  ⁴⁹ NASSCOM and Mercer, Gender Inclusivity in India: Building Empowered Organizations (2009).

  ⁵⁰ NASSCOM and Mercer, Gender Inclusivity in India: Building Empowered Organizations (2009).

  UPDATED March 31, 2011