Women hold only around 23% of leadership roles, and only 17% in top executive or C-suite positions, says Instahyre.
Women account for 31 per cent of the new roles emerging because of AI and related emerging technologies in India, as per data shared by hiring firms. Jobs pertaining to AI, data science, analytics, cybersecurity and others report a growth in the number of women taking such roles.
Anthropic used US data to look at the impact of AI on the labour market and said women are 16 per cent more likely to be among the more exposed groups. However, Indian data shows women have a considerable presence in AI jobs.
According to talent acqusition platform Instahyre, the share of women in such roles has increased from 26 per cent a year earlier, indicating a steady rise in women entering AI-driven and future-tech jobs. Similarly, CIEL HR talked about how women are more represented in knowledge-intensive and digital roles such as design engineering, R&D, data analytics, product management, quality assurance and regulatory or compliance functions.
Leadership roles
Overall, women account for about 35 per cent of entry-level roles and about 36 per cent of the overall workforce, reflecting strong participation driven by campus hiring. However, the representation drops significantly at senior levels, with women holding only around 23 per cent of leadership roles, and only 17 per cent in top executive or C-suite positions, said Instahyre.
“The numbers show a clear structural gap: even though almost one in three tech professionals entering the industry are women, fewer than one in four make it to leadership, underscoring the persistent progression challenge in India’s tech talent pipeline,” said Sarbojit Mallick, Co-founder, Instahyre.
CIEL too reported how women hold only 12-16 per cent of leadership roles in sectors such as semiconductors, GCCs and e-commerce, while aerospace and defence have just 7.4 per cent representation at the leadership level.
“We need to create space for women to elevate to the leadership roles by upskilling them, providing them mentorship opportunities and creating inclusive workplaces. The future of India’s tech economy depends on fully leveraging all our talent, not just half of it,” said Aditya Narayan Mishra, MD & CEO of CIEL HR.
Published on March 8, 2026