Gurugram, Haryana, India | 29th January 2026: Avtar Group, India’s leading workplace culture and inclusion consulting firm, has officially launched the Avtar & Seramount Best Companies for Women in India (BCWI) 2026 benchmarking study at a Leadership Summit held at Leela Ambience, Gurugram. The BCWI study is one of India’s largest and most rigorous inclusion-focused benchmarking initiatives, with participation from more than 400 organizations and growing each year.
Introduced in 2016, the BCWI study marked its tenth anniversary in 2025, completing a decade of advancing inclusive workplace practices across corporate India. The annual benchmark assesses companies on key parameters such as leadership commitment, pay equity, workplace safety, flexibility, and equitable career progression for women.
Addressing leaders at the summit, Dr Saundarya Rajesh, Managing Director of Avtar Group, emphasized the strategic importance of gender inclusion for business performance. She noted that organizations can achieve sustained growth and stability only when employees are engaged and customers trust the brand—both of which depend on inclusion and belonging.
“Gender inclusion is not just a social goal; it is a decisive performance lever,” she said. “With the Global Gender Parity Sprint accelerating action toward 2030 and India’s Vision 2047 aiming for 70% women’s workforce participation—representing a potential $14 trillion economic opportunity—inclusion has become a macro-economic imperative. BCWI provides organizations with a data-backed benchmark to build lasting inclusion through leadership ownership, pay equity, workplace safety, flexibility, and fair advancement.”
Dr Rajesh also announced the launch of a new benchmark — Avtar & Seramount Best Places for Workplace Wellness — reflecting the growing importance of employee well-being. This study will evaluate organizations on parameters such as built-in work flexibility, comprehensive wellness benefits, inclusive policies, data-driven decision-making, and continuous improvement in workplace practices.
The Leadership Summit brought together senior executives and decision-makers from leading organizations including CBRE, EY India, IBM, IHG Hotels & Resorts, R1 RCM, Sun Life Global Solutions, Teleperformance, and Wipro. Discussions focused on what differentiates high-performing inclusive organizations, the future of workplace inclusion, and the business outcomes of building equitable and high-trust cultures.
A key highlight of the summit was a first-of-its-kind Solutions Clinic, which demonstrated the tangible advantages of rigorous benchmarking. Another segment spotlighted the principle-driven design of the BCWI framework, showcasing how structured measurement supports long-term inclusion strategies.
Over the past decade, BCWI has recorded measurable improvements in women’s workforce participation among benchmarked companies. Women’s representation in the workforce of ‘Best Companies’ has increased from 25% in 2016 to 35.7% in 2025. Representation at the leadership level has also improved significantly, with women now holding 20% of C-suite roles, up from 13% in 2016—highlighting progress in building stronger and more equitable leadership pipelines.
Participation in the Avtar & Seramount benchmarking studies is free. Organizations can register here:
www.avtarcc.com/enrich/best-companies-for-women-in-india-bcwi/
