Job opportunities for women in India surge by 48 pc, freshers most in demand: Report

Bengaluru, March 3 (IANS) India's job market is witnessing a significant shift, with job opportunities for women soaring by 48 per cent in 2025 compared to the previous year, a new report said on Monday. 

The remarkable growth is largely driven by demand in key sectors such as information technology (IT), banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), manufacturing, and healthcare, alongside a rise in demand for specialised talent in emerging technology roles.

According to the report from foundit (formerly Monster APAC & ME), around 25 per cent of the jobs available to women in 2025 are for freshers. This suggests that early-career professionals are in high demand, especially in sectors like IT, human resources (HR), and marketing.

In terms of experience, the largest share of jobs for women falls in the 0-3 years category (53 per cent), followed by 4-6 years (32 per cent). Industries such as IT/computers - software, which accounts for 34 per cent of women's jobs, continue to dominate, the report added.

Other notable sectors include recruitment/staffing/RPO, BFSI, and advertising/PR/events, with increasing job opportunities for women in these fields.

“The Indian job market is evolving rapidly, creating greater access and opportunities for women, particularly in high-growth industries and tech-driven roles,” said Anupama Bhimrajka, VP-Marketing, foundit.

She added that a 55 per cent increase in work-from-office arrangements, signalling a shift in employer priorities.

“While challenges persist in areas like salary parity and evolving work-mode preferences, the overall outlook for women’s workforce participation in 2025 remains highly encouraging,” Bhimrajka said.

Interestingly, engineering and production roles are also seeing a rise in women’s participation, growing from 6 per cent to 8 per cent in the last year. The surge also highlights a growing need for specialised talent in emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, data science, and cloud computing.

Geographically, the report found that more women are finding jobs in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. The share of women’s jobs in cities like Nashik, Surat, Coimbatore, and Jaipur has jumped to 41 per cent, compared to 59 per cent in Tier-1 cities.

The salary distribution for women’s jobs shows that the majority (81 per cent) are in the 0-10 lakh annual salary bracket, followed by 11 per cent in the 11-25 lakh range, while 8 per cent earn more than 25 lakh.

Another encouraging trend is the rise of women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields as women make up 44 per cent of STEM graduates in India, the report said.

--IANS

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