Avtar Group released Top cities for Women report

Avtar group, India’s pioneers in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), released the ‘Top cities for Women in India’ report today. The three cities – Chennai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad have emerged as Top Cities for Women in India with their City Inclusion Scores above 60. The report which is the culmination of a year-long exercise is an algorithmic assimilation of data from over 200 sources including the current ease of living index, PLFS, national census, crime records, NFHS, Ministry of Women & Child Development’s annual report, the IMF, as well as Avtar’s primary research with employer organizations and women, to arrive at a comprehensive City Inclusion Score®. Chennai, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Mumbai have emerged as Top Cities for Women in India with their City Inclusion Scores above 60. The City Inclusion Score is a composite of the Social Inclusion Score (SIS) and Industrial Inclusion Store (IIS).

The Social Inclusion Score (SIS) comprises social factors (quality of life, women’s safety, women’s representation in the workforce and women’s empowerment initiatives) that influence the city to be women-friendly. Industrial Inclusion Score (IIS) evaluates the extent to which organisations in the city across industries are inclusive of women. The IIS is based on three indicators – inclusive organisations, inclusive industries, and career enablers.

According to Avtar’s Top Cities for Women in India report, only nine out of the 111 cities have scored above 50 in their City Inclusion Scores. The capital cities of many states do not feature in the top 25 spots. While state capitals receive a lot of attention – politically, socio-economically, environmentally, and developmentally, their absence in the top 25 necessitates a deeper probe from the side of policymakers to understand the barriers faced by the state capitals in being inclusive for women professionals.

Cities like Delhi, Nagpur, Aurangabad, and Faridabad have a social inclusion ranking which is lower than the industrial inclusion ranking. Whereas cities like Puducherry, Vishakhapatnam, Surat, and Bilaspur have a high social inclusion score with a low industrial inclusion ranking. Cities with high social inclusion scores – which refer to the extent of safety, women-oriented initiatives, and a general sense of ability to live and raise families (which are critical to women) have good potential for corporates to expand and set up operations here thereby attracting a larger pool of diverse talent.