Wipro's female workforce sees significant drop, declines by 8,126 in FY24

India’s IT major Wipro witnessed a decline of 8,126 women workers in the financial year 2023-24, according to the company's annual report.

This decline parallels Wipro’s overall workforce reduction, with a year-on-year decrease of 24,516 employees, resulting in a total headcount of 234,054 as of March 31.

During FY24, Wipro, Infosys, and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) all experienced declines in their workforce diversity. Infosys reported a decrease in its female workforce by 10,786 employees to 124,569, while TCS saw a drop of around 6,000 female employees to 214,000 during the same period. Overall, Infosys' total workforce decreased by 25,994 employees to 317,240, and TCS’ workforce declined by 13,249 employees to 601,546, compared to the last financial year.

 

Collectively, these three companies (Wipro, Infosys and TCS) saw a substantial workforce reduction of 63,759 employees in FY24, reflecting a shift from the aggressive hiring trends seen post-pandemic.

A report by The Financial Express quoted analysts as saying that there could be several reasons for the decrease in the number of women employed, such as the diminishing impact of hiring surges caused by the pandemic and a shift away from remote work arrangements.

Sexual harassment cases at workplaces

Concerns about workplace culture extend beyond mere workforce statistics at these firms. At Wipro, reports of sexual harassment complaints more than doubled in FY24, totalling 182 cases compared to 70 in FY23. Additionally, Wipro disclosed that under POSH guidelines, there were 93 complaints in F024, down from 141 the previous year.

Similar patterns emerged at Infosys and TCS, where instances of reported sexual harassment showed marked increases. Infosys recorded 98 cases in FY24, up from 78 in FY23, while TCS experienced a rise to 110 cases from 49 during the same period.

Addressing TCS’s 29th annual general meeting, TCS chairman N Chandrasekaran suggested that the uptick could partly reflect heightened awareness and a culture of openness fostered within the company’s extensive workforce, which exceeds 600,000 employees.

“We are operating in a global environment and constantly enforcing and encouraging a culture of openness. We always want people to express themselves. If there is harassment, people should raise it; when they do so, the number goes up,” Chandrasekaran said.