Women participation trumps men in startups, finds WISER report

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When it comes to gender inclusivity, startups are outclassing their NSE-listed, India Inc. counterparts. According to insights from the Women in India’s Startup Ecosystem Report (WISER), women constitute a solid 35% of a startup’s workforce, as opposed to just 19% in corporations. While 18% of startups had a woman at the helm, as a CEO or founder, only 5% women held key positions like these in corporations. Notably, the report had gathered insights from 111 founders, 117 chief human resource officers, and 755 startup employees.

The impact of gender inclusivity trickled down the organizational hierarchy as well. While startups had 21% of its director or vice president positions being occupied by women, only 15% women made it to these levels in NSE-listed corporations. In startups too, managerial roles were dominated by women at 32%, as compared to just 21% in regular organizations. 

Women-led startups also grew at a significant pace, maturing into a unicorn (those with valuation of more than $1 billion) in a short span. About 105 startups achieved unicorn status last year, as opposed to just 13 in 2017. The number of women-led unicorns also jumped from 8% to 17% over the last 5 years. These startups, in turn, perpetuate the positive cycle of gender parity. The study revealed that startups who had at least 1 female founder were 2.5x more likely to have other women in senior roles, as opposed to their male counterparts. 

As per the report,  India had around 6,000 startups in 2017. Out of this, 10%, or 600 were led by women. Over the course of the last five years, India’s startup ecosystem has grown exponentially, standing at a massive 80,000. Out of these, 18% are currently led by women. Overall, 48% of all employees in a female-led startup were women, in contrast with 39% of them in a male-led startup. 

A recent Barclays report also noted that in order to achieve 8% GDP growth, it was necessary to have women make up more than 50% of the new workforce that is expected to be created by 2030. To ensure this growth, India needs to push its female labour force participation rate to 43.4% in the next 7 years.