Chennai is the best city for women in India, shows study

Chennai emerged as the top Indian city for women in 2023 in terms of inclusivity and conduciveness to working women, as per findings from diversity, equity and inclusivity consultant Avtar Group’s Top Cities for Women in India (TCWI) 2023. 

Tamil Nadu cities topped both categories that the study covered – 49 cities in the million-plus population category and 64 cities in the less than a million-population category. Chennai topped the million plus category and Tiruchirappalli came on top of the less than a million category. The southern state also had a total of seven cities such as Coimbatore (Million plus), Tiruchirappalli, Vellore, Salem, Erode, and Tirupur (Less than a million) featuring in the lists.  

The study ranked cities based on a City Inclusion Score (CIS) -- a composite of the three pillars Social Inclusion Score (SIS) - takes into account the external social environment including how safe the city is for women, how many women in the city are employed, how good the quality of life in the city with respect to education, health, housing, water and sanitation, mobility, recreation, etc. Industrial Inclusion Score (IIS) - an industrial/business concept that evaluates the extent to which organizations in the city across industries are inclusive of women. Citizen Experience Score (CES) - data collated from a pan-Indian survey of working women to create a Citizen Experience Score (CES). 

Chennai not only bags the prize as the top city for women in India among cities with a million plus population, but also retains its SIS rank in the first place. Its IIS rate slipped by 1 and is second to Bengaluru on this scale. 

The TCWI study also revealed that India’s national CIS average of 21.59 was way lesser than that of Chennai’s 48.42, indicating that conduciveness for women is limited to a few pockets in the country.  

Interestingly, national capital Delhi, which is notorious for its crimes against women, made its debut in the top 10 by positioning itself on the 8th rank. Delhi held a CIS rank of 14 last year. However, Delhi SIS rank, which takes into account the external social environment including how safe the city is for women, slipped eight positions to rank 27 this year.  

Dr Saundarya Rajesh, Founder-President, Avtar group said, “Vibrant employment opportunities, good quality of life including educational and healthcare facilities, well-connected transportation networks, experience of safety are defining attributes of inclusive cities for women.  Avtar’s annual index, Top Cities for Women in India is a clarion call to create equitable pathways to increase women’s workforce participation in the country. Our data-driven and evidence-based understanding of the ethos of Indian cities towards women’s inclusion will help in making our country a developed nation by 2027 – as envisioned by our Honorable Prime Minister. Creating environments where women thrive, lead, and contribute their fullest potential is crucial in this pursuit.”   

Highlighting that women’s participation in the workforce is not only essential for India to grow into a $5 trillion economy by 2025, the study pointed out that it also has a considerable impact on making organisations more diverse and equitable as also on overall social equity. 

As part of the TCWI 2023 study, an open survey was also conducted from July 2023 to December 2023 in which close to 1100 women participated across 53 cities. Apart from this, FGDs were held in 16 different cities in India in which 112 women participated and shared their lived experiences.