The number of female professionals opting for freelance roles surged, with a 300% increase in female consultants in India in FY24 over FY22, as per data from Flexing It shared exclusively with ET. In FY24, global organizations increasingly looked to India for high-quality talent at lower costs, taking advantage of the country s robust post-pandemic remote work practices.
Data shared by Deloitte shows that 75% of the 250 companies surveyed are considering gig workforce for their open positions in 2024, as against 61% last year. Data from freelance platform Flexing It shows a similar trend, with more than 30% year-on-year increase in the number of projects in the tech sector.
While women take up white-collar freelance roles primarily to enable them to stay in the workforce, men choose independent roles to build their professional brand, according to research into work patterns carried out by the white-collar gig platform Flexing It. The skill architecture is different too. Technology has emerged as a major skill area for both. Skills like strategy and business development, as well as supply chain and logistics, have a significant supply of highly skilled male consultants. This is contrasted by the skills of HR and finance that female consultants bring in large proportions.
“As careers become non-linear, freelancers can leverage their skills to balance out different life stages, while staying in touch with their profession,” she told ET. “Be it selecting projects that align to their long-term goals (for example, starting up or impact consulting) or pacing out the workload, freelancing allows professionals a lot more agency and control over their careers.”
The number of women professionals seeking freelance work has surged amidst a dearth of remote work opportunities for women, leading to many dropping out of full-time roles. Flexing It notes a 15% increase in the number of women consultants seeking freelance work in Q2 2021 versus the previous quarter, with 60% of them looking for full-time work. Many have opted for freelance roles for location flexibility.