Based on a survey with over 10,000 current and 1,500 former women workers, the report reveals systemic barriers and need for urgent policy solutions for India’s blue-grey collar workforce
New Delhi, India | 25th July 2025 – The Udaiti Foundation, in partnership with Quess Corp Limited, today launched State of Women in the Blue-Grey Collar Workforce-2025, a data-driven report and policy brief offering actionable solutions to strengthen women’s participation in one of India’s fastest-growing employment segments. The launch summit—KaamSeKaamyabi: Unlocking Women’s Potential in India’s Fast-Growing Blue-Grey Collar Economy—was held in New Delhi, bringing together senior leaders from government and industry including Smt. Vandana Gurnani, Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment; Shri S. Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics & Communication; and Rajkamal Vempati, Group Executive & Head of Human Resources, Axis Bank.
Drawing from surveys with over 10,000 current and 1,500 former women workers across sectors like retail, manufacturing, BFSI, and services, this first-of-its-kind study goes beyond headcounts to uncover the structural drivers of India’s blue-grey collar gender gap. 52% of women with less than one year of experience plan to quit within the next 12 months, compared to just 3% among those who cross the two-year mark, underscoring the need for interventions to arrest attrition at an early stage. And of the 1,500+ women who left jobs in the last 6 months, 67% of them are out of the workforce for multiple reasons. Despite women’s overall share in blue-grey collar roles rising from 16% in FY20-21 to 19% in FY23-24, as per PLFS Annual Report, the cohort faces high early attrition rates that threatens productivity, continuity, and India’s ability to achieve its $30 trillion economy goal by 2047.
Pooja Goyal, Founding CEO of The Udaiti Foundation, said, “This report reveals a tremendous opportunity for India to unlock its full economic potential. We have demonstrated that we can open doors for women, and the unlock lies in creating systems that enable them to thrive and grow. Women aren’t leaving because they lack capability; they’re leaving because we haven’t yet built the infrastructure and designed workplaces for their success. With India’s blue-grey collar economy projected to comprise 70% of the workforce by 2030, investing in women’s retention and advancement isn’t just the right thing to do—it’s our path to sustainable growth.”
The report identifies five key challenge areas from the survey that, if addressed, can significantly improve women’s retention: higher incomes, safer and more reliable mobility, improved workplace infrastructure, clearer career growth pathways, and more inclusive, supportive work culture.
Key Findings from the Report
Income is a key challenge: 54% of women who are currently working are unhappy with pay, and 80% save less than INR 2,000/month.
Those earning above INR 20,000 are 21% less likely to drop out in the near term— showing that better pay supports retention.
1.Among exited women employees who are currently out of the workforce, 42% said a better pay would motivate them to return to work.
2.Findings suggest that there is a huge scope to introduce performance-linked incentives and career-based earning potential to improve retention.
Mobility barriers: 57% of women respondents who are currently working face transport challenges; 11% feel unsafe while commuting, especially during night shifts.
1.Particularly, single migrant women in manufacturing and EMPI sectors rely heavily on hostels (23%) but face limited safe commuting options.
2.One in five women who have left the workforce said they will return to work if workplace was closer to home.
3.The findings indicate that improving mobility solutions holds significant potential to boost women’s workforce participation.
Workplace safety and infrastructure challenges: 22% of women feel unsafe at work, with this figure jumping to 33% where basic safety measures like CCTV and lighting are absent.
1.Safety concerns are particularly higher in FMCG/FMCD, IT/ITeS/Education, and manufacturing — especially for field-based roles where secure infrastructure is often lacking.
2.This indicates the need to strengthen workplace infrastructure which can significantly enhance women’s sense of safety and well-being.
Career growth: 21% of women respondents cite lack of growth as a reason to leave their jobs; postgraduate women with more than a year’s tenure are 3x more likely to exit if the growth pathway is unclear.
3.Career growth dissatisfaction is most pronounced in BFSI (25%) and Telecommunication sectors (24%) where the majority of the women hold graduate or higher degrees, indicating the mismatch between education and job roles.
4.Despite women perceiving a plateau in their professional development, only 11% are pursuing skill-based training to advance their careers.
Limited workplace flexibility: 28% of women report difficult hours and demanding work environments. Of this, one third of them cite lack of flexibility as the main issue.
5.Of the women who left their last jobs, 24% of them said it was due to poor manager behaviour and lack of respect.
6.Additionally, many field-facing roles across sectors commonly lack formal grievance redressal systems, underscoring the need to build open and responsive channels to hear women employees out.
Guruprasad Srinivasan, ED & CEO, Quess Corp, said, “At Quess, we commit to work with our clients, government, and civil society to develop solutions that ensure women not only enter, but grow and thrive in the workforce. It’s not just a social imperative, but essential for building a productive, competitive economy. This report doesn’t just identify the barriers but proposes a set of actions on how we all can collectively address the challenges. The staffing industry plays a significant role in providing pathways for women to join formal employment. We need to now develop robust, gender-intentional retention strategies that enable the grey and blue collared women workforce to grow.”
Quess Corp is at the forefront of driving formal employment for women, with over 109,000 women currently in its workforce. The company has placed a strong emphasis on expanding opportunities in Tier 2 and 3 cities, aiming to widen access to formal jobs and nurture emerging talent across India. In FY’25 alone, Quess created 133,000 new formal job opportunities through UAN generation, with a significant share going to first-time women professionals. With initiatives such as ‘Jobspot by Quess’, the path to employment has been fast-tracked — aiming to bring 1 lakh individuals to the formal workforce by the end of FY’25. By combining grassroots outreach, skilling programmes, and tech-driven recruitment, Quess is building a more inclusive and sustainable future of work for women.
A Blueprint for Change
Alongside the report, The Udaiti Foundation and Isaac Centre for Public Policy, Ashoka University have released a policy brief offering actionable recommendations to increase women’s participation and retention in the workforce:
For employers: Clear and transparent career pathways, gender-sensitive infrastructure, flexible scheduling, earned wage access, formal grievance systems.
For the government: Minimum wage revisions linked to cost of living, investment in safe and reliable public transport (especially at night), subsidies for women’s mobility (like scooter purchases), public childcare mandates.
For civil society: Co-leading community-based safety audits, skill-building programmes, and data collection on gender outcomes.
The full report can be accessed here, and the Policy Brief here.
About The Udaiti Foundation:
The Udaiti Foundation is committed to drive India’s vision of a Viksit Bharat and a $30 trillion economy, through two key objectives of increasing India’s Female Labour Force Participation Rate to 50% and doubling the number of women owned enterprises in the country. As a force multiplier in the Women’s Economic Empowerment ecosystem, we actively provide data-backed evidence to the private sector organisations, state governments and the start-up ecosystem and collaborate with them to drive change on the ground.
About Quess Corp:
Established in Bengaluru in 2007, Quess Corp Limited (BSE: 539978, NSE: QUESS) is India’s largest and a global leader in staffing and workforce solutions. Quess leverages deep domain expertise and AI-driven digital platforms to help businesses enhance productivity and build a future-ready workforce. Its comprehensive suite of technology-enabled staffing and managed outsourcing services spans key sectors including BFSI, Retail, Telecom, Manufacturing, IT, and GCCs. Today, Quess has a workforce of approximately 4,59,000 employees across 8 countries and serving over 3,000 clients.
Quess Corp, ranked #19 among India’s Best Workplaces & has been certified a Great Place to Work for the sixth consecutive year in 2025. Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) has recognised Quess Corp as India’s No.1 staffing company in 2025 & 37th globally in 2024. Additionally, it became the first Indian firm to join the World Employment Confederation in 2025. In just 17 years, Quess has grown from a start-up to a trusted global workforce leader.
Please visit www.quesscorp.com for more information
