How India’s Top Companies are shaping a more gender-inclusive future

It is easier for women professionals to thrive at workplaces where the environment is designed to enable, not just include. But, what really counts as enablers for women?  

True enablement and empowerment happen when “women have the resources, opportunities, and systemic support they need to grow at every stage of their careers”, suggests Navaneet Mishra Senior Vice President and Head, Hexagon R&D India, in a Business Standard report.

And LinkedIn’s Top Companies in India seem to be doing exactly the same. 

Across Top Companies with more than 5,000 employees, women constitute 38% of the workforce, compared to 27% in non-top companies. Senior-level female representation stands at 30% in top large firms versus just 17% in their non-top counterparts. 

“When policies that are targeted at growing the careers of women professionals translate into action, you will be much better placed to grow, because you’re getting the best perspectives and a driven, gender-diverse workforce”, Saraswathi Kasturirangan , Chief Happiness Officer at Deloitte India, shares in another Business Standard report.

An almost similar trend is observed across LinkedIn’s Top Companies with fewer than 5,000 employees: top midsize companies have 34% female employees and 29% are in senior roles, while non-top midsize companies — represented within the broader non-top group — lag with 27% overall and 17% in senior leadership.

So, what exactly are LinkedIn’s Top Companies doing differently to ensure women don’t just show up — but actually thrive in environments built to enable them?

Tailored initiatives to attract women employees

Top Midsize Companies like Professional Assistance For Development Action (PRADAN) and Tricog Health focus on targeted recruitment and conscious hiring efforts to increase women’s representation.

According to the Randstad Workmonitor Survey 2025, more than half of Indian employees would consider leaving a job that does not offer adequate flexibility, with women placing particular importance on work-life balance. 

India Inc is also focusing on diversity and flexibility to support and retain female talent. LinkedIn’s Top Companies in India, be it Oracle , Excelsoft Technologies , Infosys , and Sasken Technologies Limited provide flexible work arrangements and options for employees so that they can balance work and personal needs. 

Supporting via guides and sponsors

Women grow when workplaces offer not just ladders, but guides and sponsors too.

Fidelity Investments places a strong emphasis on both traditional and reverse mentoring programmes for employees and leaders to benefit from cross-generational perspectives. Meanwhile, Mastercard runs the Women’s Mentoring Matters series that pairs junior-level women with senior leadership mentors to support career growth.

Arundhati Bhattacharya , Chairperson and CEO of Salesforce India and South Asia, had shared how women often exit the workforce at various stages, such as during childbearing, when their children are between classes 10 to 12, or when they need to care for the elderly at home.

LinkedIn’s Top Companies, both large and midsize, are running a slew of return-to-work programmes to support women who are re-entering the workforce after career breaks. For instance, Amazon has a ‘Ramp Back programme’ in India, which enables women employees to transition smoothly to work, post their maternity leave. 

Sasken Technologies also offers re-skilling, flexible work options, and a dedicated buddy system. Their maternity leaves enable employees to add work-from-home options in the first-year post childbirth.

Check out the LinkedIn Top Companies in India with more than 5,000 employees here: https://lnkd.in/INTopCompanies25. And, check out the LinkedIn Top Companies in India with fewer than 5,000 employees here: https://lnkd.in/TC25MidsizeIN

Methodology:

We have inferred the gender of members by classifying their first names as either male or female or by pronouns used on their LinkedIn profiles. Members whose gender could not be inferred as either male or female were excluded from this analysis. We define leadership as members holding positions at the seniority level of VP or C-Suite. These metrics are calculated by looking at members with current active positions.

🖊️: Nakul Ghai

📊: LinkedIn Economic Graph Research Institute

📷: Getty Images