Best of Best Conference & Awards Marks 10 Years of Driving Workplace Inclusion Through BCWI
Dr. Tamizhachi Thangapandian, MP, presented the awards to the winning companies
Chennai, Avtar Group, Indias leading workplace culture consulting firm, hosted BOB the Best of Best Conference & Awards, Indias prestigious gathering of workplace culture & inclusion experts and thought leaders, at ITC Grand Chola. The Best of Best is an annual conference conducted by the Avtar Group, that celebrates the winners of Avtar & Seramount Best Companies for Women in India (BCWI), the Most Inclusive Companies Index (MICI) and Best Companies for ESG (BCESG). Dr. Tamizhachi Thangapandian, MP (South Chennai Constituency), presented the awards to the winning companies.
BOB 2025 stood as a milestone moment it commemorated the tenth anniversary of BCWI which was launched in 2016. Across its revolutionary ten-year journey, Avtar & Seramount Best Companies for Women in India (BCWI) has guided over 400 organizations in embedding inclusive policies, serving as a compelling tool in shifting mindsets and steadily elevating the benchmark for workplace inclusion nationwide. Breaking new ground, womens representation in leadership among the Best Companies rose to 20% for the first time, with overall female workforce participation steady at 36%, up from 25% in 2016.
Reflecting on the milestone, Dr Saundarya Rajesh, Founder President, Avtar Group said Twenty-five years ago, Avtar set out to make inclusion a reality in Indian workplaces. Ten years ago, BCWI became our way to measure that change, to see how intent turns into impact. Today, as we celebrate its tenth edition, we see not just statistics but stories of women who found opportunity, of leaders who chose empathy, and of organizations that turned intent into action.
Centered on the theme Unbox Inclusion, BOB 2025 explored topics such as lighthouse leadership, innovative inclusion practices, organizational vitality, and redefining leadership through a new understanding of power. Speaking about the event and its theme, Dr Saundarya said, As the world of work continues to evolve, with AI reshaping work, hybrid teams becoming the norm, multiple generations working side by side, and global challenges like climate change affecting us all, inclusion needs a new lens. Unbox Inclusion is about doing just that: breaking open old ideas and seeing inclusion as something that lives in our everyday actions, choices, and conversations. The future belongs to workplaces that unbox new ways of thinking and make inclusion a daily habit.
The event also featured a Forum Theatre, an interactive session that encouraged the audience to engage, interact and co-create possible solutions to enable workforce aspirations. The event concluded with awards and felicitation of the Best Companies for Women in India.
Top 10 Best Companies for Women in India (BCWI) (listed in alphabetical order):
Accenture Solutions Private Limited
AXA XL India Business Services Pvt. Ltd
Cairn Oil and Gas, Vedanta Limited
EY
KPMG in India
Mastercard Incorporation
Optum Global Solutions (India) Private Limited
Procter & Gamble India
Tech Mahindra Limited
Wipro Limited
The full list can be viewed, here: https://www.avtarinc.com/enrich/best-companies-for-women-in-india-bcwi/
About Avtar:
Avtar, founded in 2000 by Dr Saundarya Rajesh, is one of Indias leading workplace culture consulting firms, supporting hundreds of companies in creating diverse and supportive workplaces. Avtar is also the countrys largest provider of second career opportunities for women.
An ISO 20700 certified firm, Avtars biggest research projects are its annual benchmarking studies the Best Companies for Women in India (BCWI) and the Most Inclusive Companies Index (MICI). Done in partnership with Seramount, BCWI and MICI are Indias largest workplace inclusion benchmarking studies, which have paved the way for the employment of more women and other under-represented groups. Avtar also promotes inclusive hiring through MyAvtar, Indias first job portal for under-represented professionals.
A snapshot of Avtars work in the last 25 years:
Provided advisory services in inclusive practices to 800+ organizations
Conducted 5000+ workshops and training programs in companies of different sizes, spanning industries and locations
Facilitated the re-entry of 1,00,000 second-career women into the workforce through MyAvtar.com
Engaged with 200,000+ women through career enablement programs
Offered unique skilling programs such as DigiPivot (a prestigious course in digital marketing, conducted in partnership with Google, HUL, and ISB) to hundreds of women.
Provided career intentionality training, employment guidance, and access to industry leaders every year to 10,000+ girls from underprivileged backgrounds through Project Puthri, an initiative of the Avtar Human Capital Trust (AHCT).