Fewer Women Leaving Jobs In The IT/ITES Sector due to WFH Flexibility, Finds Study!

The pandemic-induced work-from-home and flexible work schedules have led to lower attrition rates among female employees in top IT companies in India. Despite concerns over threefold workload at home, data suggests that more female employees have joined the IT sector post-pandemic.

In India, the IT/ITES sector employs close to 5 million people, out of which a quarter are women. Even though gender-based diversity has been a common practice of companies in this sector, the attrition rate of women employees has always been high in IT/ITES.

However, with the prevalence of work-from-home and increased flexibility in work conditions since the Covid 19 pandemic, the attrition rates of women in the IT/ITES sector have seen a significant decrease from 2020. 

Decreased Attrition Rates Among Women In IT/ITES

According to data accessed by Moneycontrol, based on a report by Avtar, an inclusivity and diversity consulting firm, and Seramount, a US-based professional services firm, the attrition rates of women in the IT sector in India have fallen significantly in 2021.

At the non-managerial level, it has declined by nearly 40%, whereas at the managerial/executive levels it has fallen by about 20%.

This data came up as a sharp contrast to the concerns that work from home would burden women with the dual load of office and housework, making it difficult for them to balance both.

Key Highlights From The Report

The data shared with Moneycontrol was compiled as part of Avtar and Seramount’s Best Companies For Women In India and the Most Inclusive Companies Index report 2021.

Although the report covered nearly 200 companies across multiple sectors, the following key highlights relevant to the IT/ITES sector stand out.

• The total attrition rate of women in the IT/ITES industry has gone down from 22.86% (on average) to 13.57% - a decrease of close to 40%.
• At the non-managerial level, the decrease is roughly about 40.29% as the percentage of women leaving the workforce fell from 23.69% to 14.14%. 
• At the managerial, senior managerial, and executive levels the fall in the attrition rate has been around 21% in 2021. 

Dispelling Concerns Of Negative Impact

‘A three-fold increase in workload’

In August 2020, Hexaware Technologies - a mid-tier IT firm, did a study to assess the impact of Work From Home on women employees. The report found that there has been a two to threefold increase in the workload of women owing to remote work, resulting in a negative impact on women in the workforce.

Many in the industry feared that this could lead to a tipping point where women would have to sacrifice work due to increased stress. Besides, the pandemic also resulted in the closing down of the caregiving options for children - such as schools, and as a result, the load of providing care to children fell squarely on working mothers.

Thus, women, especially working mothers, had to deal with office work, housework, and providing care to children. Many experts, including the CEO of Hexaware Technologies R. Srikrishna, felt that it would result in a threefold increase in the workload of women.

Other Factors Considered

However, as Rituparna Chakraborty, the executive VP of the staffing firm Teamlease has pointed out, flexible work condition has led to more women joining the workforce, as it allowed them to work from anywhere. Especially women who had taken a career break due to the hectic in-office schedules welcomed the increased flexibility that work from home brought.

One segment of women who have left their careers post maternity are also seen returning to work as more employers offer workplace flexibility. We see a jump in women hiring and are almost at par with pre-pandemic levels,” Chakraborty said.

Furthermore, the Best Companies For Women In India and the Most Inclusive Companies Index report confirmed that there has indeed been an increase in the women workforce within IT/ITES in 2021. Compared to 31% in 2020, the female workforce in IT/ITES has increased to 32.3%.

The overall participation of women in the workforce has also gone up by 10% between 2016 and 2021. On the other hand, the number of women at the managerial level has also gone up from 19% in 2020 to 21% in 2021. Thus, as the numbers indicate, WFH has indeed been a blessing for many women working in the IT/ITES sector.

Summing Up…

While the data indicates that the flexible work condition has positively impacted the female workforce in the IT sector, it is hard to assess the impact at the micro-level. The reports compiled early in 2021 that showed a visibly negative impact of the pandemic on the female workforce do have a point and their findings will be relevant for many women in the industry.

As work conditions return to normal and employees start returning to the offices, the onus lies on the companies to make sure that a high degree of inclusivity exists with regard to the women employees. If anything, the hybrid work conditions of the pandemic have shown that even second-career and first-job women employees can make significant contributions to the productivity levels at IT firms.

However, the levels to which it can be harnessed depends on the inclusivity policies of the IT/ITES companies.

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