Corporate India focusing on gender diversity, to hire more women in 2023

Companies are also focusing on hiring second-career women - those who are returning to work after a career break

Corporate India is pushing for gender diversity in the workplace and is set to hire more women within its ranks in the New Year, reported The Economic Times.

Leading organisations such as Cognizant, Larsen & Toubro and HDFC Bank are intensifying their efforts to attract more women employees by taking initiatives like flexible work hours and mentoring programmes, according to the report.

Some other organisations that are taking these initiatives on this front include ITC, KPMG, Axis Bank, Schneider Electric, Cipla and Procter & Gamble, the report said. 

These businesses are also focusing on hiring second-career women – those who are returning to work after a career break. They also intend to rehire those who left in the past five years.

ITC is offering flexibility in work arrangements for expectant and young mothers. Axis Bank is focusing on alternate work formats to bring in diverse talent. L&T is offering to help women employees if they plan to relocate to a different city.

“Diversity helps in getting the best ideas and driving innovation,” C Jayakumar, head, corporate human resources, L&T, told the publication. “Many studies have shown how diverse teams tend to outperform others. As for gender diversity, from the talent market point of view, a progressive organisation like ours can’t miss out on this large talent pool.”

Amitav Mukherji, head, corporate human resources, ITC, said a diverse workforce helps unleash creativity, reinforcing the competitiveness of the enterprise.

Vinay Razdan, CHRO, HDFC Bank, said the current gender ratio at the organization stands at 23.3 per cent. It has risen over the past quarters. 

The report said Schneider Electric is aiming to ensure 50 per cent of its new recruits are women. It also wants to have women as 40 per cent of frontline managers, and 30 per cent of senior leadership, according to Rachna Mukherjee, CHRO India, and South Asia.