Mumbai, Sep 24: Great Place To Work® India today released "The Missing Middle: Redesigning how women build and sustain career momentum", a research-based report on the workplace culture, career lifecycle, and systemic shifts shaping women's careers in India. The study represents 22+ lakh employee voices across 20+ industries.
The report finds that women make up 1 in 4 employees of the Indian workforce, yet talent leakage occurs through every level, with only 16% holding the executive seats. It brings to light the mid-career squeeze that occurs when life stages coincide with career stages and where caregiving peaks and flexibility needs rise.
Speaking on the findings, Balbir Singh, CEO, Great Place To Work® India, said:
"Women continue to be a critical part of India's workforce, accounting for nearly a quarter of the workforce. Our research finds that women represent 28% of individual contributor roles, but the representation drops drastically to just 17% at the middle managerial level, highlighting the need for stronger career continuity, sponsorship, and support systems. The opportunity before leaders today is to provide longevity to women's careers, enabling women through key career and life-stage transitions. To leverage their potential, organizations must redesign career paths, workplace practices, and leadership behaviours to sustain career momentum, especially when career and life demands intersect. Congratulations to India’s Best Workplaces for Women 2026 for setting the benchmark and creating environments where women can flourish, be leaders, and help shape the future." - Balbir Singh, CEO, Great Place To Work India
The report strongly puts forward the proposition: The “collision zone” is the point at which women’s career progression intersects with major life-stage responsibilities such as caregiving and parenting. The collision zone is not women's problem to solve. It's a design problem for organisations. The Best Workplaces solve it before they're asked."
Key findings:
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Best Workplaces lead on women’s experience across aspects by at least 7%: 11% on access to unique benefits, 7% on training and development, and
8% on fair pay, and work-life balance.
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84% of women at Best Workplaces believe they have special and unique benefits at their workplace.
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Best Workplaces are expanding opportunities for women at 2x the average rate, with women taking 4 of every 10 new roles.
Three narrative shifts for 2026: From women's representation to women's contribution; from hiring talent to growing careers; and from maternity support to career sustainability.
Priority actions for 2026: The report showcases a three-step lifecycle approach to enable women’s careers. Attract & Hire: Build equitable hiring systems to assess capability, avoiding assumptions. Grow: Create pathways for women’s growth through fair access to opportunities, sponsorship, leadership development infrastructure, and support for non-linear careers. Retain: Create conditions to strengthen women retention by providing and encouraging flexible work models, robust support during caregiving and career transitions, credible workplace safety mechanisms, and inclusive communities that foster belonging. Together, these actions can help women create and sustain career momentum, advance into leadership, and contribute meaningfully to organisational success.
Alongside the report's findings, Great Place To Work India officially announced the organisations recognised as India's Best Workplaces™ for Women 2026, across Large and Mid-size categories. Both the lists are in alphabetical order.
