Chennai among top 3 cities for women's social, industrial inclusion: Study

Chennai has been recognised as one of the top three cities in India excelling in social and industrial inclusion for women, according to a recent study.

As many as eight cities from Tamil Nadu have figured in the list with the capital city ranking second for being the most inclusive, safe and resilient and sustainable city for working women.

As per the Top Cities for Women in India 2024 report by Avtar group, South India emerged as the most gender-inclusive region with 16 cities in the south featuring in the top 25.

Bengaluru has surpassed Chennai to secure the top position as the best city in the country for working women in 2024, it said.

Avtar Group Founder-President Saundarya Rajesh said Chennai came second for being the most inclusive, safe, resilient, sustainable city for working women and Tamil Nadu dominated the survey results with Coimbatore, Tiruchirappalli, Vellore, Madurai, Salem, Erode and Tiruppur also being on the top of the list.

"Cities are the foundations of opportunity. They shape how women live work and thrive. A clear understanding of the core principles and cultural fabric of our cities is crucial for advancing women's progress and inclusion.", Rajesh said on the findings. "To realise the dream of Viksit Bharat by 2047, we need women professionals to succeed on par with men. This is possible only if cities are truly gender inclusive and offer an atmosphere where women's strengths can be optimised," she added.

The Top Cities for Women in India index identifies role model cities and best practices, and provides a framework for organisations, policy makers to foster well-rounded development in cities, which play a pivotal role in progress of women, nationwide.

The Index has been compiled by assimilating various data sources including the Centre for Monitoring the Indian Economy (CMIE), the World Bank, crime records and periodic labour force survey, along with the Avtar Group's primary research team.

As many as 1,672 women participated from 60 cities for the survey, it said.

The top 10 cities for women in 2024 include Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi, and Coimbatore. The cities were ranked based on an overall score assigned to every city and based on the Avtar Group's research and existing government data.

Among the states, Kerala leads with the highest inclusion score of 20.89 followed by Telangana at 20.57, Maharashtra 19.93, Tamil Nadu at 19.38 and Karnataka 17.50.

Based on skilling and offering employment to women among cities, Gurugram secured the top spot, followed by Mumbai, Bengaluru while, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Thiruvananthapuram marginally lagged behind, the report said.

In efficiency of government bodies, Thiruvananthapuram stood first and Pune ranked second.

On safety for women, Thiruvananthapuram, Mumbai and Hyderabad topped the list while Bengaluru, Kochi, Gurugram were comparatively low in safety, the report revealed.