Number of women employees rise in top Indian IT firms

Bangalore: The ratio of women employees has seen an increase in India's top IT companies like Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys and Wipro Technologies during FY09.

While the ratio of women employees in TCS went up by two percent, Infosys and Wipro saw its women workforce go up by one percent. "A higher enrolment of women in engineering colleges is reflecting in campus hiring and ultimately the IT workforce. Other factors driving the trend include work atmosphere and the economic and financial security," said T.V. Mohandas Pai, Board Member and Director HR, Infosys.

Nearly 40 percent of the entry-level workforce in Infosys is constituted by women. While around 13 percent women constitute the middle management workforce, about eight percent constitute the top management levels.

TCS employed over 38,000 women workers in FY09 as compared to 30,000 in the previous financial year. The company attributes the increase to its equal opportunity employment policies. Ajoy Mukherjee, Vice President and Head of Global HR, TCS says, "We do not believe in the glass ceiling and 10 percent of our senior management includes women. In FY09 we launched a new initiative called DAWN (Diversity and Women's Network) to encourage diversity and inclusion in the workforce, particularly for women."

Wipro's women employees numbered 16,810 in March 2009 compared to 16,300 in the previous year.

Although Infosys, TCS and Cognizant have women as board members, Wipro is yet to see a woman on its board. However, according to Mohandas Pai, the representation of women at the board level remains poor. He says, "This is my personal view but boards are largely male dominated. I do not see companies making special efforts for gender balance at this level."

It is also being said that women in the IT sector are facing greater pressure than men in terms of layoffs. However Hema Subramaniam, CEO of Live Connections, a recruitment agency, says that large firms do give employees the option to move to centres in other cities, but women, especially those married and with children generally refuse such offers. She does not see a pattern of women discrimination here.