Women

Women's participation in flexi IT roles reaches 40% in FY26: Report

Placement of women in contractual or flexible roles in the IT and IT-enabled services sector has reached 40 per cent in FY26, reflecting the growing adoption of the workforce model, a report said on Saturday. Women's placements increased by 10 percentage points from FY22 to FY26, reaching 40 per cent in FY26, said talent solutions provider Careernet's report - Women in IT/ITeS: Trends in Contractual/Flexi Roles. The preferred roles tilt toward finance and accounting (43 per cent), followed by data science and analytics (34 per cent), UX, design and architecture (31 per cent), IT and information security (29 per cent) and engineering - software and QA (27 per cent), it said. Consulting (20 per cent) continues to lag, pointing to areas that have greater headroom for inclusion, added the report. Careernet's report is based on an annual sample of 3,000 placements in contractual positions in FY26 and was compared with data from the last four fiscal years. With respect to preference for

Women's credit expands, but entry of new borrowers slows: NITI report

Lending to women continues to grow, but share of first-time borrowers declines in microfinance, even as retail credit sees rising participation

SC bench hears pleas on discrimination against women at religious places

A nine-judge Supreme Court bench on Tuesday commenced hearing on petitions related to discrimination against women at religious places, including Sabarimala temple of Keralam, and on the ambit and scope of religious freedom practised by multiple faiths. The Constitution bench comprises Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices B V Nagarathna, M M Sundresh, Ahsanuddin Amanullah, Aravind Kumar, Augustine George Masih, Prasanna B Varale, R Mahadevan and Joymalya Bagchi. Ahead of the hearing, the Centre filed written submissions and requested the top court to uphold restriction on the entry of women of menstruating age into Sabarimala temple. The Union of India said the issue falls squarely within the domain of religious faith and denominational autonomy, and lies beyond the scope of judicial review. In September 2018, a five-judge Constitution bench, by a 4:1 majority verdict, had lifted the ban that prevented women between the age of 10 and 50 from entering the Ayyappa shrine at Sabarima

Jobs, empowerment and more: Unpacking manifestos in poll-bound states

From cash transfers to welfare schemes, women voters dominate poll strategies across five states, with parties competing to secure this electoral bloc

Indian legal system's gender gap begins at the bar and reaches the bench

Many woman lawyers are first-generation professionals, making the early years particularly difficult

SC flags systemic bias in armed forces, grants relief to women officers

The Supreme Court found systemic bias in denial of Permanent Commission to women officers and granted pensionary relief and safeguards across Army, Navy and Air Force

SC grants pension benefits to women SSC officers denied permanent commission

The Supreme Court ruled that women SSC officers denied Permanent Commission in the Armed Forces were victims of systemic discrimination and are now entitled to full pension and related benefits

SC judge flags UAPA overuse, poor women representation in higher judiciary

Supreme Court Judge Justice Ujjal Bhuyan has asserted that the goal of a Viksit Bharat by 2047 cannot be achieved through criminalisation of dissent, mindless arrests under the anti-terror law UAPA and "deep social fault lines". Speaking at the first national conference of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) in Bengaluru on Sunday, Justice Bhuyan also lamented the poor representation of women in the higher judiciary. He contrasted it with the figure of more than 50 per cent women making it to the posts of judicial officers in district judiciary across the country. "But has it been replicated in constitutional courts? That is the question. That is where the scrutiny of the collegium system comes in. Why is it that when the assessment becomes subjective, women do not make the grade? Out of 287 SC judges since 1950, we had a total of only 11 women judges. Why? Starting with Fathima Beevi and now Justice Nagarathna, it is some two per cent," Justice Bhuyan said. He said that as per

Birth incentives and bad economics: The flaws in Andhra's demographic plan

The policy runs the risk of creating adverse outcomes. First concerns the quality of human capital. Given that India's and Andhra Pradesh's falling TFR is the result of improved education and incomes

Two-thirds of companies have no female KMP, says CFA Institute study

Women held only 12.4 per cent of key managerial personnel roles in FY25, with nearly two-thirds of companies having no female KMP, highlighting a sharp gender gap in corporate leadership

Missing half in India's growth puzzle: Female labour participation just 42%

Over 125 million women in India with secondary or higher education are outside the labour force

Uber's women-only option goes nationwide in the US amid safety concerns

Uber launched a feature Monday to allow both women riders and drivers across the US to be matched with other women for trips, expanding a pilot program aimed at addressing concerns about the safety of its hail-riding platform. The new feature is being rolled out nationwide despite an ongoing class action lawsuit against the policy in California, filed by Uber drivers who argue that it is discriminatory against men. Rival ride-hailing company Lyft is also facing a discrimination lawsuit over a similar offering that it introduced nationwide in 2024. The feature, announced in a blog post, allows women to request a female driver through an option on the app called "Women Drivers." Passengers can opt for another ride if the wait for a woman is too long, and they can also reserve a trip with a woman driver in advance. A third option allows female users to set a preference for a woman driver in their app settings, which would increase the chances of being matched with a female driver, thou

Public sector banks lag private banks in women board seats, shows data

Women CEO in three insurers, zero in banks

Women buying homes priced above ₹90 lakh jumps to 61%, says Anarock

Share of women seeking homes priced above Rs 90 lakh rose to 61 per cent in 2025 from 25 per cent in 2019, signalling stronger participation in India's high-value property market

Datanomics: Women's participation rate in India's workforce remains low

India's female labour force participation rate stood at 32 per cent in 2024, significantly lower than several peer economies

Elusive inclusivity: Why gender diversity on boards needs a fillip

Many organisations suffer a "missing middle" in terms of gender diversity, with women dropping out at demanding mid-management levels because of non-conducive social ecosystems

Allocations for women, children jump 11.55% to ₹5.01 trn in Budget 2026

Allocation for women and girls under various schemes has increased by 11.55 per cent to Rs 5.01 lakh crore in 2026-27, up from Rs 4.49 lakh crore in the previous financial year as per the Gender Budget Statement (GBS) released by the government. Gender budget statement includes allocations for schemes exclusively for women and girls, as well as proportion of spending in broader schemes that benefit them, bringing together total allocations across ministries aimed at promoting gender equality. The share of allocation of gender budget in the Union Budget has also risen to 9.37 per cent 2026-27 from 8.86 per cent, the Ministry of Women and Child Development said in a statement on Wednesday. The allocations were announced as part of the Union Budget 2026-27, which was presented in Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1. A total of 53 ministries/departments and five Union territories have reported allocations in the gender budget this year -- compared to 49 ...

India to host global conference on women in agriculture in March

Over 500 researchers, policymakers, women farmers, industry leaders and others will take part in the event, aimed at in-depth discussions and shaping a clear policy-backed roadmap for action

Retailers ramp up women hiring as sector reshapes frontline teams

The gender gap is widest in FMCG feet-on-street sales, where demanding travel, tough targets, low pay and poor facilities keep women below 5 per cent

Women lawyers to take on leadership roles, but barriers persist: Survey

An SCBA survey shows women lawyers keen to lead, yet gender bias, pay gaps, limited mentorship and motherhood pressures continue to restrict equal access to leadership roles