Gender Diversity and Firm Performance: Evidence from India

The reasons behind India’s declining female labor-force participation have been the focus of much research and speculation in recent years. There is a broad consensus that the declining participation of women in the work force is not just bad for their own economic empowerment, but also spells productivity losses for the economy. But beyond exploring the reasons behind the decline, what can be done about this? One important question is how the private sector can be motivated to provide equal access to employment opportunities for women.

The JustJobs Network, with support from the United Nations Development Programme, has commenced a new research project aimed at understanding the impact of gender diversity on firm outcomes in India, using secondary data. This project seeks to unlock the productive potential of India’s female workforce by making a case for the importance of gender diversity in promoting positive firm outcomes.

The study’s findings – expected to be released in early September 2017 – have the potential to foster a more gender-diverse workplace, and encourage firms and other stakeholders to eliminate discriminatory employment practices, skill women workers and draw more women into the workforce.