Women's role in workforce improving despite Covid: Jobs website report

Women being hired for drivers, security guards, delivery partners-roles traditionally denied to them, says apna.

Women’s representation is improving significantly in the workforce across roles and hierarchies as the economy battles the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, said apna.co, India’s largest jobs and professional networking platform.

With around 5 million female users, apna has recorded trends that are encouraging and highlight the shifting dynamics of India’s rising workforce. The platform has witnessed a 430 per cent increase in female users in 2021. According to apna, this percentage will continue to grow in 2022. Cities such as Pune, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad noted a significant rise in women users on the platform. Maximum female content creators on apna communities hail from metros such as Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru.

 “According to a recent report from the IMF, reaching gender parity would boost India’s GDP by as much as 27 per cent,” said Manas Singh, chief business officer of apna. “Similarly, the World Bank reports that India’s GDP growth rate will climb above 9 per cent if women have an equitable share of jobs and the nation can boost its growth by 1.5 percentage points per year if just 50 per cent of women join the workforce.”

The pandemic and its subsequent work-from-home regime created avenues for women to join the workforce. Female users also showed an inclination towards building professional networks and invested their time towards the same. apna became a safe space for them to have professional conversations and interact with industry peers. Women have been actively engaging in apna communities on government, business, learning languages, tele-caller, back-office jobs, teacher, computer/data entry, beauticians, lab technician and cooking.

“While we still have a long way to go, the 2021 Women Workforce data by apna is encouraging and signifies an upward graph in their participation,” said Singh. “Through the mission of #AcceleratingIndia, we will continue empowering our female users and building a trusted platform for them to find relevant job opportunities.”

 As per data from apna, there was a 12X increase in women interviewing on its platform in comparison to last year. In fact, on average women are interviewing at least 8 times a month – 33 per cent more times than men. This highlights the accelerated intent in women to apply for more jobs. They are not only joining the workforce but also taking up unconventional jobs and breaking barriers created centuries ago.

 With easily available and verified hyperlocal opportunities, mentorship programs and upskilling courses, apna became a default choice for India’s women workforce. Interestingly, 39 per cent of the female users on apna are 12th pass or lower and rely on apna to find jobs and build their professional network. The platform is empowering millions of women by helping them find a career in around 70 categories.

More popular roles on apna included tele-callers and BPO, back office, receptionist, front office, teacher, accounts, finance, admin, office assistant and data entry operators. Unlike last year, apna also recorded a rise in women applying for various non-traditional roles, including delivery partners, security guards, lab technicians, fitness trainers and drivers to name a few.

ON THE JOB

Trends for women users apna.co witnessed in 2021

● Maximum women-only jobs were posted in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Delhi and Kolkata

● Employers are hiring women in unconventional roles like drivers, security guards, delivery partners, fitness trainers

● Some top communities with the highest women’s engagement: government, business, learning English, tele-caller, back office

● Tele-caller and BPO jobs are the most popular jobs in all the major cities

● Women engaged in 48 million professional conversations during this year

● 56% of these conversations were by women from Tier-I cities, the rest in Tier-II markets

● Top companies posting the maximum women-only jobs: Urban Company, Lakme, Zomato, Motherhood India Hospitals, Fortis