Women’s Leadership, Gender Integration and DEI in the Impact Sector
Gender diversity is a key driver ofdrives productivity, innovation, and employee retention, yet the current landscape reveals a significant gap.gap persists. Despite higher educational attainment and a growing economy, many urban Indian economy,women acontinue substantialto numberexit the workforce. While female labor force participation rose from 20.4% in 2017–18 to 23.8% in 2021–22 (PLFS), the share of urban women professionalsin aresalaried exitingjobs thefell workforce.to Existinga researchsix-year bylow, highlightsfrom that54% evenin Q1 to 52.8% in Q2 (Business Standard). Even when women do participate in the workforce,stay, they encounteroften face unequal environments that are unequal and predominantly structureddesigned for menmale to succeed. This deep-seated inequality calls for a deeper exploration of the multifaceted barriers that hinder women’s leadership and advancement, particularly in the social sector.success.
AcknowledgingTo theaddress importancethese of gender integration and the role of organisations in advancing women’s leadership,barriers, EquiLead undertookconducted a rigorous landscaping study, “Unpacking Gender-Equitable Leadership in Organizations"Organizations”. ThePhase firstone phase,(Dec conducted between December 2022 and 2022–June 2023,2023) involved a sample ofsurveyed 70 organisations.organisations, Tofollowed ensure broader diversity and representation, a secondby phase wastwo conducted(Aug–Oct from August to October 2024,2024) expanding the sample to 128 organisations. This report presents the consolidatedconsolidates findings from both phasesphases, ofoffering theinsights study.into advancing gender equity in leadership.