LinkedIn reports rise in women taking up leadership roles in India

Traditionally, women in India have been deprived of equal opportunities, more so when it comes to equality at workspace. Even as there is still a lot to be achieved in terms of gender pay gap, career growth etc, India is making great strides in eliminating gender parity at workplace.  According to a recent report by LinkedIn, more and more women are taking leadership positions. They have reported that at 20 per cent momentum gain, India has the largest percentage increase in women being hired in leadership roles.

On the other hand, the report also reveals that in terms of women currently holding leadership positions, India is among the lowest, indicating that there are road blocks which need to be conquered.

Among the 10 countries that are mentioned in the report, US, Canada and France have the highest percentage of women in leadership, with an average of one-third of women holding roles of director-level and above.

Further, the report also reveals that globally, there is close leadership gap is sectors like education and non-profit industries. The education and non-profit sector is leading the way in closing the gap between male and women leaders, it said “In these sectors, women are being hired for 47 per cent of leadership positions.”

Healthcare and pharmaceuticals has a high number of women in leadership with 46 per cent positions being held by women

The report says the technology industry witnessed the largest change with 18% increase in women leaders hired.

The top three job titles that have seen the strongest growth are all technology roles, including user experience designer (67 per cent increase), chief technology officer (60 per cent increase) and web developer (40 per cent increase).

Meanwhile, it also found that even with 56 per cent women holding the position of chief human resource officer, women CEOs still make up only 18 per cent of the workforce. Hiring for women in the Director of Information Technology role has increased by 57 per cent since 2008.

LinkedIn report also showed that diversity and inclusion is becoming a priority for companies worldwide. It mentions more than 37 per cent of talent acquisition leaders believe that gender diversity will be the number one trend defining the future of hiring.

As per the report, the oil and energy industry reduced its hiring of women leaders by 5 per cent.

The report is based on LinkedIn data globally, including that of India, showing how members choose to use the site, which can vary based on professional, social and regional culture.