In an effort to promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace, Indian large businesses are hiring women at the entry-level. However, the percentage falls sharply to 19 per cent at the mid-management and senior levels, indicating a broken rung in the corporate ladder, the 6th edition of the DivHERsity Benchmarking Report 2023-24 observed.

Large enterprises lead in women recruitment with a 38 per cent participation rate at the entry-level.

The share of women hired in the C-suite has fallen to 24 per cent, down from 37 per cent in 2022.

The participation of women in surveyed Indian enterprises remained at 34 per cent, while the startups and SMEs showed a slight improvement to 36 per cent of the total workforce.

The participation of women in surveyed Indian enterprises remained at 34 per cent, while the startups and SMEs showed a slight improvement to 36 per cent of the total workforce.

Highlighting the success of returnee programs adopted by companies, the survey added that large enterprises saw 93 per cent success of such hiring drives while the success rate for startups and SMEs stood at 83 per cent.

A returnee program is a formal route to employment for professionals coming back to the workforce after a period of unemployment.

The report indicates that 82 pet cent of large enterprises and 67 per cent of SMEs/Startups now conduct women returnee-specific hiring drives.