New Delhi, April 1 According to a new report released on Wednesday, women in India's formal workforce stay in their jobs "36 percent" longer than men, debunking the perception that they are a retention risk.
The findings, based on data from the fintech platform SalarySe, are based on an analysis of over 47,800 EPFO records of its registered users, primarily salaried professionals in urban areas.
"The median tenure for women is 10.6 months, compared to just 7.8 months for men. In fact, only 36 percent of women leave their jobs within the first six months, as opposed to 44 percent of men," the report said.
However, according to the report, despite higher retention rates, women remain underrepresented in the formal workforce, with only one in 13 workers being female, accounting for 7.6 percent of all EPFO records.
The analysis also highlighted a structural gap wherein women who enter the workforce tend to stay longer, but access to opportunities remains uneven across sectors and roles.
Sector-wise, the IT industry recorded the highest share of women among major sectors at 13.2 percent, nearly double the overall average.
While the education sector had the highest representation – with women accounting for 20.3 percent of workers – the manufacturing and construction sectors remained male-dominated, with women accounting for 3.6 percent and 3.2 percent of the workforce, respectively.
The study also pointed to a sharp drop in participation among women aged 35-45 years, with 19.5 percent exiting the workforce compared to 12.4 percent of men, aligning with life events such as marriage and motherhood.
Commenting on the findings, Piyush Bagaria, co-founder, SalarySe, said the perception around women being harder to retain is not borne out by data.
"The conversation around women in the workforce has been dominated by the assumption that they are harder to retain, that they leave faster, and that investing in them is somehow riskier. But when you actually look at the numbers, none of that holds up" he said, adding that financial systems in India are not aligned with women’s career realities.