Women in MSME biz at 24%, higher than other industries: Study

CHENNAI: The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector, which accounts for generating the largest employment opportunities in the country, has recorded a relatively higher rate of women participation in the workforce (24%) compared to other industries, revealed the findings of CIEL HR Analysis Study.

The study titled - Employment trends in MSME Sector, conducted by CIEL HR Services, Staffing and Recruitment firm, further stated that over 20% of proprietary MSMEs are owned by women with West Bengal leading at 23.4% followed by 10.4% in Tamil Nadu.

While women’s participation is high in this sector, the study also revealed that their involvement at the leadership level is only 10%.

Over the past two years, the MSME sector has witnessed a whopping 45.5% growth in employee headcount. Furthermore, attrition is less of a challenge for the core traditional manufacturing sector having 3.6 years of median tenure, when compared to that of Environment/ Renewables and ITES (new age companies) sectors in MSME having 2.9 years and 2.5 years median tenure respectively. The report suggests that due to the lack of skilled manpower and hesitance to adopt technology, only 7% of the employees work in the IT field.

Aditya Narayan Mishra, MD-CEO, CIEL HR Services, said “The MSME sector is one of the significant sectors for the growth of our economy with their ~30% contribution to the GDP. While there has been a steady increase in the women’s participation rate in the MSME industry, our study has also revealed the need for better gender representation at an executive level for improved organisational climate and better financial performance.”