Share of women employees in CPSEs dips to 9.35% in FY21: Survey

According to the report, the number of women employees in CPSEs declined 9.5% to 80,525 in FY21 when pandemic hit the economy

The share of women employees in central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) dropped to 9.35 per cent in 2020-21 (FY21), from 10 per cent in the preceding year (2019-20, or FY20), in a sign of widening gender gap in government-owned companies, according to the latest Public Enterprises Survey.  

This is way below the all-India female labour force participation rate which stood at 25.1 per cent, according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey annual report for the period July 2020-June 2021.

According to the report, the number of women employees in CPSEs declined 9.5 per cent to 80,525 in FY21 when pandemic hit the economy.  

Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Labour Conference last month asked for an increase in women’s labour force participation, saying flexible workplaces, work-from-home ecosystem, and flexible work hours should be introduced.

“By making the right use of women power, India can achieve its goals faster,” he added.

The percentage of women employees in CPSEs in the past four years has stayed stagnant at 9-10 per cent. However, women in managerial positions has gone up. 

In the 255 operational CPSEs, 32 per cent of women employees are at managerial/executive level, 8 per cent in supervisory positions, while 60 per cent are in worker categories.

The fall in the absolute number of women employees was witnessed across all levels. The maximum fall was at the supervisory level (35.23 per cent); the least was for unskilled workers (1.54 per cent).

Only two sectors — coal and information and communications technology (ICT) — had women’s share in total employment greater than 10 per cent. Whereas in FY20, there were six sectors — industrial and consumer goods, financial services, ICT, transport and logistics services, textile, chemical and pharmaceutical — with more than 10 per cent share of women employees.

The ICT CPSEs have the highest number of women employees at a managerial level (4,986) and skilled worker level (7,858). Coal CPSEs, comprising eight companies, have the highest number of women unskilled workers (13,722).

Ensuring women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making, including managerial positions, is a key sustainable development goal declaration to be achieved by 2030.

The World Economic Forum, in its latest Global Gender Gap Report released in July, ranked India 135 among 146 countries. According to the report, India and Sri Lanka have progressed on closing the gender gap in the share of women in senior positions.