Understanding COVID-19’s Impact On Working Women: JobsForHer DivHERsity Benchmarking Report 2020-2021
- Ekta A. Singh
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- Back to Work, Career Development, Expert Advice, Women-friendly Companies, Events, Working Women
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- 12 May 2021
The year 2020 was a challenging one in many ways. But the pandemic has impacted women’s employment adversely according to the DivHERsity Benchmarking Report 2020-21, launched by JobsForHer in May 2021.
While everyone in the world of work felt the impact of having to work from home, women felt the brunt even more than men, since they had to take on additional roles — of teachers, employees, bosses, support systems and more. And trying to juggle it all left them feeling like they were stretched too thin.
The report analyses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women's career advancements across the country and across various levels of corporate India.
The Benchmarking Report is based on data collected from more than 300 companies that participated in the DivHERsity Awards survey, including large enterprises, SMEs and startups from a variety of industries, such as IT, BFSI, FMCG and Pharma.
Women Participation in Various Sections of The Workforce
An analysis of the 2020 report shows that there has been no increase in women participation as compared to 2019, which stands at 34%. The report also highlights that the gender gap exists at all levels of the talent pipeline for women, and it widens as they move towards senior management/CEO levels.
Women Returnees: India's workforce participation of women returning to work after a career break sharply declined by 20% in the year 2020. It will need a collaborative and continuous effort from the corporate world to fix this leaky talent pipeline.
Women in Tech: One of the sectors where gender disparity is easiest to spot is the tech industry. Women make up only 34% of the IT workforce in India, with the majority of them under the age of 30. It’s time we focus on the next generation of tech talent and make sure gender equality exists across career stages.
Women in Leadership: Diversity in leadership is good for business. But the percentage of women in senior management and leadership positions remains unchanged at 18%. But corporate India is trying its best to bring women into leadership positions through talk and affirmative action around gender diversity in recent times.
How Can You Benefit from The Report
The JobsForHer DivHERsity Benchmarking Report is a unique report that covers a number of parameters, such as Best Practices in Diversity Hiring Policies, Best Practices in Diversity Programs, Women Returnee Programs and Women Leadership Development Programs, D&I Programs, Gender Sensitisation Program to understanding the extent of the challenge we face in accelerating female participation and performance in the Indian workforce.
This report is put together to benefit HR teams across the country to source top female talent for their organisations to drive better performance and achieve ambitious goals — both business and cultural. Businesses must prioritise flexibility, equity and inclusivity if women are to achieve their career ambitions.
This Benchmarking Report is a handbook for companies that are working and those that wish to work towards a common goal — to increase the participation and performance of women professionals.
For more queries contact us at simran@jobsforher.com or call us at +91 7619654173 or visit www.jobsforher.com/employer.
