There is no denying the fact that women’s participation in the workforce has picked up beyond the metros of India. Apna.co, the Indian jobs and professional-networking platform, has witnessed a four-fold increase in the number of women job seekers from tier II and III cities in the 2021 to 2024 period. The number of job applications from women belonging to these cities has also increased three times, touching 1.28 crore in 2024. That is not all; the median salary of women job seekers in these regions has gone up by 34 per cent in the 2021-24 period, indicating improved wage growth and expanding career prospects beyond metro cities.
Why has this happened? Because expanding job opportunities, increased digital accessibility, and evolving employer-hiring patterns have enabled more women from non-metro regions to actively participate in diverse industries.
Which are the domains attracting women the most? Jobs in sales, business development, admin and back office, and customer support were the most sought after by women in tier II and III cities, as 55 per cent of the total job applications were for roles in these fields.
The interest in marketing, hospitality, banking, teaching, retail, human resources and healthcare jobs is also on the rise. Job preferences are changing for sure, with women from tier II and III cities looking at unconventional roles now. Almost six lakh applications were received for field sales jobs, followed by 2.5 lakh applications for delivery and logistics roles, and 1.5 lakh applications in security services on Apna.co in 2024.
Cities such as Lucknow, Jaipur, Indore, Bhopal, Surat, Nagpur, and Coimbatore are turning into employment hubs with women actively securing jobs there, and making up more than over 45 per cent of the total job applications on the platform. Meanwhile, Kanpur, Bhubaneswar, Ranchi, Chandigarh, Patna, Ludhiana, Vadodara, and Guwahati are also rapidly evolving into high-growth talent centres, indicating a wider shift in workforce participation beyond India’s metros. Clearly, non-metro cities are closing the workforce gap rather fast. Expanding job opportunities, rising digital accessibility, and shifting hiring trends continue to empower women professionals, enabling them to explore diverse career paths and strengthen the evolving Indian workforce.
Apna.co’s data also shows a 2.5X increase in the number of freshers among women job seekers belonging to tier II and III cities in the past three years, touching almost nine lakh in 2024. There is no doubt that new talent is entering the workforce in droves, especially women.
Nirmit Parikh, founder and CEO, Apna.co, is confident that, “By 2030, exponential job market growth will further accelerate opportunities for women across various sectors. This shift presents a crucial moment for businesses to tap into a skilled and motivated talent pool.”
