29, May 2025: India Inc’s journey towards gender parity has seen gradual progress, extending even to traditionally male-dominated technology roles in non-tech sectors. However, despite marked improvements, substantial disparities in representation and pay persist. Addressing this, TeamLease Digital, a leading specialised staffing firm in India, has unveiled a detailed analysis focusing on contractual tech roles across non-tech industries.
The comprehensive analysis highlights an encouraging trend in the gender composition of India’s tech contractual workforce between 2020 and 2024. Female representation surged from 9.51% in 2020 to 27.98% in 2024, reflecting growing momentum for diversity in a space long dominated by men. This shift underscores the increasing recognition of women’s contributions to tech roles across non-tech domains and the growing appreciation for diversity in innovation-driven functions. The following are the key aspects of the analysis:
Steady year-on-year growth
Gender representation within India’s contractual tech workforce has undergone a complex evolution. Tech roles in non-tech sectors have showcased a positive narrative since 2020, with steady, albeit gradual improvement in gender parity. As per TeamLease Digital’s findings, in 2020, female representation for tech roles in non-tech sectors stood at a mere 1.90%. However, by 2023 and 2024, this reached 11.8% and 14%, respectively, indicating a slow but encouraging shift in traditionally male-dominated roles.
Gender diversity in tech roles across non-tech industries
Despite this progress, female representation in contractual tech roles remains uneven across non-tech industries. While sectors such as BFSI (46.88% women) and Lifesciences & Healthcare (29.58% women) have embraced gender parity, others, such as Manufacturing & Engineering (4.82% women) and Energy (6.25% women), lag behind. On the other hand, sectors such as Automotive have 23.91% female representation. This imbalance is largely attributed to rigid hiring practices, cultural stereotypes, and limited skilling pathways for women in core technical functions.
The concerning level-based composition
A closer look at the level-based composition of females in tech roles in non-tech sectors reveals a concerning statistic: women’s representation in senior roles stands at a mere 3.35%, women in mid-level roles comprise 4.07%, and those in entry-level roles make up 3.03%. This signals a major discrepancy as male dominance considerably surges, and women continue to face challenges in ascending to leadership roles.
However, between 2023 and 2024, there has been a noteworthy increase in female representation in mid and senior levels, going from 4.98% in 2023 to 5.14% in 2024 in mid-level roles. Similarly, female representation in senior positions increased from 3.95% in 2023 to 4.86% in 2024, a gradual shift in gender parity, with greater female representation.
To deepen this understanding, TeamLease Digital’s analysis further examined industry-wise and skill-based representation trends, offering a clearer picture of where inclusion is progressing—and where significant gaps remain.
The industry-wise skill-based representation: BFSI and Lifesciences & Healthcare lead the way
In the industry-wise skill-based analysis, TeamLease Digital’s findings highlighted that BFSI had the highest female representation in both non-technical and technical skills, standing at 49.28% and 44.31%, respectively. Lifesciences and Healthcare followed closely, with female representation in non-technical and technical skills standing at 47.32% and 34.58%.
Meanwhile, Manufacturing & Engineering, Energy, and Tech had some of the lowest female representation in technical and non-technical skills. Female representation in non-technical and technical skills in the Manufacturing & Engineering industry was 19.08% and 23.68%, respectively, while in the energy sector, it was at an alarmingly low rate of 16.77% and 4.27% for non-technical and technical skills, respectively.
For the tech industry, female representation for non-technical and technical skills stood at 35.97% and 16.07%, respectively. Overall, in all the industries, it was technical skillsets where women’s representation took a hit, particularly in conventionally male-dominated sectors such as Automotive, Manufacturing & Engineering and Energy.
The geography factor
Having thoroughly analysed the city-wise composition of female representation, TeamLease Digital’s analysis reveals that gender representation varies significantly by city tier, underscoring a disparity in opportunities. Overall, tier-I cities have a more gender-diverse workforce than tier-II cities.
In tech roles in non-tech sectors, tier-I cities saw a 15.88% female representation, while in tier-II cities, this was reduced by almost half, standing at 7.58%. This imbalance largely stems from biased hiring practices and an underrepresentation of women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) fields. The gap in female representation also underscores the need for digital literacy initiatives, remote work options, and adequate upskilling/reskilling programs.
Commenting on the detailed research and its findings, Neeti Sharma, CEO of TeamLease Digital, said, “The significant rise in female representation in tech roles within non-tech sectors from 1.90% in 2020 to 14% in 2024 reflects a promising shift towards inclusivity. However, persistent gaps in technical skill representation and leadership roles highlight the need for targeted interventions. TeamLease Digital’s in-depth analysis sheds light on the gradual increase in gender diversity while highlighting the gaps effectively. Now, it’s time for organisations to encourage equitable resources for women, address industry-specific barriers, and empower women to represent a larger portion of the workforce. By doing so, companies can unlock diverse talent pools, driving innovation and sustainable growth across India’s workforce.”
Focused intervention, such as tailored upskilling programs and inclusive hiring practices, combined with greater accessibility to resources and opportunities, will play a key role in levelling the playing field and creating equitable work environments across sectors.
Research Methodology
This study is based on a quantitative research approach, analysing a proprietary dataset of 13,000 associates from TeamLease Digital’s tech contractual workforce between 2020 and 2024. A linear regression model was used to evaluate the impact of gender on salary outcomes, accounting for industry, experience levels, job roles, and geographical locations.
