Women are reaching new heights in almost all walks of life in India. However, Indian banks continue to be a male bastion, despite a slew of gender-inclusion initiatives by the government. With the explosive growth in the banking sector since the introduction of economic reforms in 1991, new avenues of employment are being created for women. In general, women have a fascination for bank jobs due to growth opportunities and competitive pay. However, the general pattern of employment in the sector over a 15-year period reveal a different picture.
From 2006-07 to 2020–21, the proportion of total female employees in the banking sector has barely increased. In all scheduled commercial banks (SCBs), the proportion of total female employees to total employees over the 15-year period, increased only by 9.1 percentage points — that is, from 14.8 per cent in 2006-07 to 23.9 per cent in 2020-21. In public sector banks (PSBs), the proportion of women employees during this period increased by 12.7 percentage points — from 14.3 per cent to 27 per cent. In private and foreign banks, the participation of women in the workforce registered only a small growth of 0.1 per cent and 2.4 per cent, respectively, in 2020-21. It cannot be denied that the nationalisation of banks gave a fillip to the inclusion of women in the banking sector.
Until the 1990s, women made up barely 10 per cent of the banking workforce. The proportion of women was the highest only in the clerical grade, at 22 per cent in 2005-06. Since then, it increased to 27 per cent in 2015-16 and 31.7 per cent in 2020-21. Despite the increasing trend in women’s employment in the Indian banking sector, the proportion of female employees in all SCBs remains less than a quarter (24.17 per cent), with only 3,97,005 female employees out of the 16,42,804 total employees in 2021-22.
India is far behind its global counterparts in terms of the number of women bank employees. In the US banking industry, the proportion of female employees in 2021 was approximately 56.3 per cent, and in Canada they accounted for 46.7 per cent of all professional banking jobs.
Another point of concern is that Indian banks are yet to understand the significance of gender inclusion at the top level. Many research studies on the issue have empirically proven that gender parity is a prerequisite for an inclusive, stable and efficient banking system. But there is still a glass ceiling that prevents women from assuming leadership positions in Indian banks; no Indian bank at present has a woman CEO and, according to a report, only 13 women occupy board positions (in 12 PSBs), representing 10.66 per cent of 122 directors. Even this was possible due to the legal compulsion of having one woman on the board as per Section 49 of the Indian Companies Act, 2013.
Latest Updates
- Now you will have to pay more tax on property sale, Indexation Benefits removed by Govt
- Net Profit of all Banks in June 2024 Quarter, Check Bank wise list
- Dharna outside PNB Bank in Bilaspur over alleged fraud
- Financial Fitness Survey: People are not financially prepared
- Approx 50,000 small business closed resulting in 3 lac job loss: Govt data