Hiring of women expected to jump 15-20% in 2019: Indian Skills report

Hiring of women is expected to jump 15-20 per cent in 2019 especially in the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), automotive, IT, software, hospitality and travel, according to a report.

The Indian Skills Report 2019 was carried out by PeopleStrong and reached out to more than 1,000 organisations from 15 different sectors in the country.

"....There is lot more to be done. While conducting this survey, the participants revealed that hindering social norms, safety at work and at times, unavailability of skilled women for certain roles often hinders participation of women," PeopleStrong founding member and chief of recruitment business Devashish Sharma said.

When women are not integrated in the skilling initiatives both as beneficiaries and shapers, the global community loses out on skills, ideas and perspectives that are critical for addressing challenges and harnessing new opportunities, he said.

He highlighted the need to bridge existing gaps across dimensions of workplace in order to provide easy and fair opportunities to women candidates. "This can be done by ensuring safety mechanisms for women at work and devising a mentorship ecosystem to encourage them," Sharma added.

India has among the lowest women workforce participation rates in the world, however, it is changing gradually, he said.

The report also revealed that women employability increased from 38 per cent in 2017 to 46 per cent in 2018. Despite this there still exists an under-representation.

Quoting a 2015 McKinsey Global study the report said, by facilitating and promoting increased participation of women in the economy, India could increase its GDP by 16-60 per cent by 2025.

Meanwhile, it revealed that India's information technology and business process outsourcing sectors have remained overall net job creators, and the industry estimates that companies could hire up to 2.5 to 3 million more workers by 2025, provided they acquire the skills needed to meet changing needs.

While Andhra Pradesh is the most preferred location among top 10 states, Telangana is least preferred. Andhra Pradesh is also the most preferred hiring destination.

Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu fall in first 5 slots in both preferred work location as well hiring destination list.

West Bengal, Rajasthan and Telangana are among the new entrant this year in the list of preferred states, it added.