Women’s participation in IT flexi roles rises to 40 per cent in FY26
Women’s participation in contractual and flexible roles in India’s IT and ITeS sector has increased to 40 per cent in FY26, driven by rising demand for flexible work. Finance, data roles lead preferences, with major concentration in metro cities
New Delhi: Women’s participation in contractual and flexible roles in India’s IT and ITeS sector has seen a steady rise, reaching 40 per cent in FY26, a new report said on Sunday.
The report, titled “Women in IT/ITeS: Trends in Contractual/Flexi Roles” by Careernet, showed that women’s placements have grown by 10 percentage points, from around 30 per cent in FY22 to 40 per cent in FY26.
The study is based on an annual sample of around 3,000 contractual placements and indicated that flexible work arrangements are becoming more popular among women.
Currently, women make up about 30 per cent of the total contractual talent pool in the IT/ITeS sector, which translates to nearly 96,000 professionals out of an estimated 3.2 lakh workforce.
In terms of job roles, women are increasingly choosing core business functions. Finance and Accounting remains the top choice, with 43 per cent participation, followed by Data Science and Analytics at 34 per cent.
Roles in UX, design and architecture have also gained traction, accounting for 31 per cent of participation.
Other areas like IT and information security and software engineering continue to see steady involvement, while consulting roles still have relatively lower representation, the report said.
Geographically, the participation of women in flexi roles is largely concentrated in major tech hubs. Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune together account for over half of the total talent pool, as per the report.
Other cities such as Delhi NCR and Chennai also contribute significantly, while Mumbai and Kolkata have smaller shares.
Tier-2 cities make up around 11 per cent — indicating that the trend is still more prominent in metro regions.
The report also highlighted that most women in these roles are in the early to mid stages of their careers.
Professionals with 5 to 8 years of experience form the largest group, followed closely by those with less than two years of experience, as per the report.