Bengaluru has emerged as the best city for women in India in 2025, topping a new index that evaluates how effectively urban centres support women through social infrastructure and workplace inclusion.
The study, released by Chennai-based workplace inclusion firm Avtar, assessed 125 Indian cities using a City Inclusion Score (CIS).
Bengaluru ranked first with a CIS of 53.29, followed by Chennai (49.86) and Pune (46.27). Hyderabad (46.04) and Mumbai (44.49) completed the top five.
The index is based on two key pillars — the Social Inclusion Score (SIS) and the Industrial Inclusion Score (IIS).
SIS measures factors such as safety, healthcare, education, mobility, and overall liveability, while IIS evaluates access to formal employment, corporate inclusion practices, skilling opportunities, and women’s workforce participation.
According to the report, cities that perform strongly on both social and industrial inclusion provide the most sustainable environments for women’s long-term career growth.
Chennai topped the social inclusion rankings, driven by stronger safety frameworks, public services, and access to education and healthcare. Bengaluru, however, led on industrial inclusion, owing to its robust corporate ecosystem, depth of formal employment, and widespread adoption of diversity and inclusion practices.
Pune and Hyderabad showed relatively balanced performance across both pillars, indicating better prospects for sustained female workforce participation.
On a regional level, South India recorded the highest average scores across all indices, followed closely by western India. Central and eastern regions lagged behind, particularly on industrial inclusion, highlighting limited formal employment opportunities for women despite some improvements in social infrastructure.
The study identified cities that combine strong social systems with inclusive industries as the most resilient for women’s careers. The top 10 cities in the index are Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Gurugram, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Thiruvananthapuram, and Coimbatore.