Telecom, Staffing & BPO Held Highest Demand Share For Women Returnees: Foundit

foundit (formerly Monster APAC & ME), released data trends around women returnees in India's white-collar market. Data indicates that industries such as Telecom, Staffing, and BPO held the highest demand share for women returnees as of May 2023. It further suggests that India Inc. is actively implementing inclusive practices and experiencing an improved hiring momentum for women returning to the workforce after a career break.

6 per cent of the total women workforce on the foundit platform were those who have taken a career break, demonstrating a growth in participation and intent to rejoin the workforce. India Inc. has come a long way with diversity and inclusivity in the workplace with menstrual leaves, LGBQTIA+ supportive policies, higher flexibility, and diversity-based hiring to empower its workforce. 

Sekhar Garisa, CEO, foundit (previously Monster APAC & ME), said, "While there are government-mandated policies in place, including paid maternity leave and other benefits, career reboots are often challenging for women, especially with job hunting hurdles and additional responsibilities. Industry studies have found that there still lies considerable bias and inequity for women in the workforce, whose employment-related decisions are rooted in family expectations and societal structures. It is heartening to see that more and more industries are opening up to hiring women returnees for roles in HR, Software Development, and Finance."

Interestingly, the hiring momentum for women returnees with 4-10 years of experience has been considerably high. Moreover, city trends indicate that Bangalore (24 per cent share) held the highest share of job postings for women returnees, followed by Hyderabad (19 per cent share), Chennai (14 per cent share), Delhi (11 per cent share), Pune (11 per cent share), Kolkata (10 per cent share), and Ahmedabad (10 per cent share). 

Telecom and Recruitment industries host the highest demand share for women returnees

The Telecom/ISP industry has been largely accommodating of women returning from a career break with the highest share of job postings (19 per cent share). Other segments such as Recruitment/Staffing (15 per cnt share), BPO/ITES/Call Centers (14 per cent share), Advertising PR MR & Events (12 per cent share), and IT (11 per cent share) were also among the top 5 industries. 

With constant adaptation to changes in work and workplace, many companies are offering flexible arrangements, such as part-time work, work-from-home options, and job-sharing arrangements allowing women to balance their work and personal responsibilities more effectively. Some organisations also provide childcare support, such as onsite daycare facilities or subsidised childcare expenses, to help working parents manage their responsibilities. 

Skilling trends for women returning 

Today, recruiters look for an extensive range of skillsets in women returnees, depending on the industry and role they are hiring for. Women returnees often hold valuable work experience before taking a career break and can leverage this experience applying it to their new roles. In today's digital world, demand for returnees with a good understanding of technology and adaptability toward new environments is undoubtedly high. 

As per foundit, roles in Software Development (33 per cent share) held the maximum share of demand for women returnees. Other roles such as HR/Admin (18 per cent share), Operations (12 per cent share), Finance & Accounts (11 per cent share), Analytics (8 per cent share), and Content  (7 per cent share) were also among the top. 

Returnship programs employed by organisations, designed to support returnees, offer training, mentoring, and on-the-job experience to help women transition back to work more smoothly. Designing skill enhancement programs within companies can also help women refresh their skills and update their knowledge at par with industry trends. 

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