Indian Startups Could Create 2 Million Jobs For Women By 2030: Report

According to Women in India’s Start-up Ecosystem Report (WISER), startups in India have the potential to generate two million new employment opportunities for women by 2030, since the ecosystem is ideally positioned to draw in female talent.

The Survey

According to a survey conducted by ACT for Women, in partnership with The Udaiti Foundation, women constituted 35 per cent of the workforce in startups in 2022, when compared to just 19 per cent in the corporate sector. This suggests that by 2030, that percentage could reach 50 per cent, if the startup community engages in thorough reflection that permits prompt and focused action.

According to WISER, women can achieve their job goals at different stages of their careers in startups, since they provide a highly conducive growth environment with faster career progression and higher autonomy. Particularly, startups managed by women are regarded to perform even better in terms of gender equality; startups with at least one female founder have 2.5 times more women in senior posts as compared to male-founded startups.

The Reality

According to the survey, startups are now doing better than established businesses, with 32 per cent of women in managerial roles as opposed to 21 per cent in the corporate sector. The disparity becomes even more at the CXO level, where corporates have only five per cent of women in leadership roles compared to 18 per cent in startups. Even while the overall numbers are encouraging, there is still a lot of work to be done. After spending ten years in startups, eight out of ten males hold director-level positions or higher, compared to just five out of ten women.

Future Propositions

Aakanksha Gulati, Director of ACT, launched WISER in January 2023 with the belief that Indian startups are uniquely positioned to lead the way in changing the game for women at the workplace. The startup community is dedicated to genuinely igniting substantial change for women in India. The fact that more than 200 startups came forward to contribute to this research and openly shared their vulnerabilities, speaks for itself.

WISER has discovered that standalone programmes and DEI initiatives are just insufficient. The startups that have advanced gender equity are also the ones that recognise the importance of an inclusive workplace culture, combined with enabling practices, policies, and people, for actively hiring, retaining, and progressing women. Although there is still much to be done, there’s hope that this ecosystem will help to make the argument for why companies should prioritise gender parity in the workplace.