Women leaders in India reach 20% for first time | Best companies for women 2025
Women’s representation in leadership roles across corporate India has reached 20% for the first time, according to Avtar and Seramount’s Best Companies for Women in India (BCWI) 2025 list.
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The number of women in leadership roles across the corporate world has increased, according to an analysis by Avtar, a workplace culture consultancy firm, in partnership with Seramount, a New York–based organisation.
According to the firm’s annual Best Companies for Women in India (BCWI) list, for the first time, women’s representation in leadership has reached 20 per cent, up from 13 per cent in 2016.
The representation has been increasing in recent years, with 14 per cent in 2020, 15 per cent in 2021, 17 per cent in 2022, 19 per cent in 2023, and 19 per cent in 2024.
Workforce share of women stable at 35.7%; Professional Services, ITES lead
In terms of the total workforce among Best companies, women’s representation stayed stable at 35.7 per cent. Professional Services leads with 44.6 per cent of the workforce being women, followed by ITES (41.7 per cent), Pharma (25 per cent), FMCG (23 per cent), and manufacturing (12 per cent).
In its 10th edition, 125 companies made it to the Best Companies for Women in India list, out of which 15 per cent were IT services companies and 9 per cent were Global Capability centres. Manufacturing accounted for 9 per cent of the list, while pharmaceuticals and consumer products accounted for 5 per cent each.
Accenture, EY, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, P&G among top 10 companies for women
Forty per cent of the companies were Indian, while the rest were MNCs.
Among them, the top 10 Best Companies for Women in India, listed alphabetically, are Accenture Solutions Private Limited and AXA XL India Business Services Pvt. Ltd, Cairn Oil and Gas Vedanta Limited, EY, KPMG in India, Mastercard Incorporation, Optum Global Solutions (India) Private Limited, Procter & Gamble India, Tech Mahindra Limited and Wipro Limited.
Published on September 25, 2025
