Work Culture / Career Growth

Here are 7 female-friendly companies in India

. 4 min read . Written by Vanshika Goenka
Here are 7 female-friendly companies in India

Women-friendly companies are hard to come by. Considering that women make an abysmally low percentage of the formal Indian workforce, having an organisation that cares about your requirements to thrive is essential. But it isn’t all that bad – some companies are paving the way for others in terms of how to create a workplace that understands and tends to its female employees.

2021’s ‘India’s Best Workplaces for Women’ survey recognised 150 organisations that can be considered female-friendly companies in India, which means that these companies are fostering gender parity and making their workspaces comfortable for everyone to thrive. Similarly, Avtar conducts surveys every year to evaluate the companies that have done its female workforce good by way of their policies and facilities.

Without further ado, here are 7 female-friendly companies in India.

  1. Infosys

As part of the top 50 India’s Best Workplaces for Women, Infosys has also been awarded a position in the list of Great Places to Work two years in a row. The IT giant’s Global Diversity and Inclusion initiatives are to be credited for its efforts to ensure gender equality in the workplace and make Infosys one of the selected women-friendly companies.

Its campus partnership programme, Campus Connect, reaches out to 500+ engineering colleges in India and encourages more girls to take up computer science (CS).

Thanks to this, roughly half of the freshers hired are women. As of 2021, 39.1% of all employees at Infosys around the world comprises women.

Apart from this, several of the company’s facilities cater to women’s ever-changing role in society. For instance, women requesting transfers after marriage are often granted, which helps immensely in employee retention.

2.  Cisco Systems India Pvt. Ltd.

For the third time in a row, Cisco was awarded one of India’s Best Workplaces for Women in 2021. Among its many facilities for employees that can benefit its female workforce – work from home, flexible working hours, and other infrastructural additions – Cisco has also worked on some initiatives that can help bridge the gender gap from a cultural perspective. Men for Inclusion (MFI) was introduced as a way to promote different perspectives to fuel company growth, and more is expected to come under this umbrella.

3.  Accenture

According to the 2021 Avtar and Seramount Best Companies for Women in India (BCWI), Accenture is trailblazing as an organisation that is committed to making its workforce equal and diverse. From leadership and skill development programs to maternity and paternity leave policies and more, Accenture has made solid efforts to realise its goal of having a 50% female workforce by 2025.

4.  TATA Starbucks Pvt. Ltd.

As a way to make itself a female-friendly company in India, our favourite coffee franchise, Starbucks’ initiatives are bearing fruit. Whether it is Brew of Balance, an initiative centred around second career opportunities for women, concerted efforts towards tapping female hotel management freshers in colleges, or providing commute facilities to its female employees, TATA is staying true to its reputation as a brand loved by all.

5.  Myntra

Whether it’s through their comprehensive maternity leave program, Motherhood and Beyond – which covers child care facilities, counselling, and diet consultation – or their returnship programs for women on career breaks, Myntra is making strides in becoming a more inclusive women-friendly company.

It has also introduced various learning programs and made additions such as wellness leaves, IVF support, and more.

6.  TATA Communications

The company’s flagship diversity and inclusion program has achieved several important goals that have catapulted it into becoming a female-friendly company. Since its launch, it has helped increase women’s workforce participation from 16% to 22%. The company’s SheReturns program, aimed at women looking to rejoin the workforce after a sabbatical, the Inclusive Leadership Program for managers, and Men Advocating Real Change (MARC) program are some other initiatives TATA has taken to increase gender sensitivity and parity.

Not to mention the increase in parental leave and adoption leave that can help men support their wives with childcare.

7.  Sony Pictures Networks

Sony Pictures Networks (SPN) has made concerted efforts towards increasing gender parity through gender-agnostic hiring. The company’s flexi-working policy allowed working from home way before the pandemic, which helped women balance their professional and personal lives. Their policies on primary caregiver leave – which extends to surrogacy as well as adoption, creche facilities, and returning mothers program among other things makes them one of the ideal women-friendly companies in India.

This is by no means an exhaustive list. There are several more companies across sectors that have and continue to prioritise their female employees’ concerns to ensure professional and personal satisfaction, and we’re looking forward to many more making their way into this list in the future.

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