Ease of doing business for MSMEs: A survey of over 300 companies across industries has revealed that women hired by SMEs and startups across all levels as a percentage of their total employees in 2022 were higher in comparison to large enterprises. The DivHERsity Benchmarking report 2022-2023 by career engagement platform for women HerKey noted that women hired at entry level by SMEs and startups as a percentage of all employees were higher at 65 per cent vis-a-vis 37 per cent by large enterprises.
Similarly, at junior to mid-management and mid to senior management levels, the share was 71 per cent and 50 per cent respectively for SMEs and startups against 30 per cent and 24 per cent for large units. At senior to leadership level also, 41 per cent was the share for SMEs and startups and 36 per cent for large enterprises in 2022.
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Overall, women hired as a percentage of all employees across companies, which were part of the survey, increased from 13 per cent to 37 per cent at senior to leadership levels and 19 per cent to 26 per cent in mid to senior management roles and 28 per cent to 32 per cent in junior to mid-management roles.
“The hiring of women at mid-management to senior levels in India has witnessed a remarkable increase. This trend reflects the growing participation of women both at the entry level and in leadership roles within corporate India,” the report said.
However, women employees’ representation in SMEs and startups declined from 31 per cent in 2020 and 39 per cent in 2021 to 27 per cent in 2022 while their representation in large enterprises increased from 34 per cent in 2020 and 33 per cent in 2021 to 52 per cent in 2022.
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Across small businesses and large enterprises combined, the women employee count grew to 50 per cent in 2022 from 33 per cent in 2021.
“The workplace’s efforts to close the talent pipeline gap and promote gender equality show promising results. Women’s engagement in the workforce has witnessed a plateau since early 2020. Due to the obstacles posed by the pandemic, participation remained similar, at an average of 34 per cent in 2020 and 33 per cent in 2021,” the report said.
Moreover, the initiatives for formal diversity and inclusion were found in 59 per cent of large enterprises while only 32 per cent of SMEs and startups had such initiatives in place. Diversity and inclusion) programmes aim to create inclusive workplaces for diversity with benefits such as enhanced innovation, increased engagement, improved decision-making, better talent acquisition, and an enhanced reputation.