GCCs lead in gender diversity in India; deeptech firms lag behind: Research

Achieving gender parity, however, remains a challenge in Deeptech organisations, where the percentage of women workforce stands at mere 23 per cent, according to the report

Global Capability Centres (GCCs) in India are leading the charge for a diverse workforce, with women accounting for 28 per cent of their workforce, reveals a joint research by Pure Storage-Zinnov released on Tuesday. 

Achieving gender parity, however, remains a challenge in deeptech organisations, where the percentage of women workforce stands at a mere 23 per cent, according to the report. 

The study titled, ‘Towards a Gender Equitable World: Unveiling Diversity in Deeptech’ highlights the need for greater focus on university enrolment in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses, and workplace retention to address the low representation of women in the deeptech sector.

The report was prepared after an analysis of women engineering graduates between 2004 and 2023 across 42 top engineering universities leveraged by GCCs for recruitment, with particular emphasis on 23 top institutions preferred by deeptech companies.

According to the report, reasons such as stereotypes about women’s capabilities, limited mentorship opportunities, and workforce culture that struggle to maintain work-life balance contribute to the under-representation of women in the corporate workforce. 

Women representation by experience level in GCCs

 

Experience Level (No of years)	Percentage of women workforce
Junior (0-4 years exp)	36.8%
Middle (5-8 years exp)	24.3%
Senior (9-12 years exp)	15.7%
Top (13-15 years exp)	14.5%
Executive (16+ years exp)	6.7%

Women representation by experience level in Deeptech firms:

Experience Level (No of years)	Percentage of women workforce
Junior (0-4 years exp)	26.5%
Middle (5-8 years exp)	24.5%
Senior (9-12 years exp)	19.2%
Top (13-15 years exp)	11.9%
Executive (16+ years exp)	5.1%

Women representation across major cities in GCC and Deeptech (in no order):

Cities	GCCs (%age)	Deeptech (%age)
Bengaluru	31.4	14
Hyderabad	29.7	2.4
Pune

27.5

1

Delhi NCR

27

5.1

Mumbai

21.5

0.3