Bengaluru tops list of top 25 Indian cities for women, followed by Chennai, Pune and Hyderabad

Bengaluru tops the list of Top Indian Cities for Women - 2025

Bengaluru has emerged as the best city for women in India, topping the Top Cities for Women in India 2025 report released by Avtar Group, which assessed 125 cities across the country on parameters linked to women’s inclusion, safety, employment and quality of life

According to the report, Bengaluru secured the first rank with a City Inclusion Score (CIS) of 53.29, outperforming other major metros due to its strong industrial ecosystem, higher participation of women in the formal workforce and the presence of inclusive corporate practices. The city was followed by Chennai and Pune in the second and third positions, while Hyderabad and Mumbai rounded off the top five.

Chennai ranked second with a score of 49.86, driven largely by its strong social infrastructure, education continuity, safe public transport initiatives and women-focused welfare schemes.  Pune followed closely at third place with a score of 46.27, reflecting a balanced performance across employment opportunities, healthcare access and workplace safety. Hyderabad secured the fourth spot with a score of 46.04, benefitting from integrated safety governance and a growing IT and services sector, while Mumbai ranked fifth with 44.49, buoyed by its employment scale despite challenges related to affordability and congestion.

The Avtar report said the rankings were based on a composite City Inclusion Score derived from two key pillars, the Social Inclusion Score and the Industrial Inclusion Score. These measured factors such as women’s safety, access to education and healthcare, workforce participation, availability of inclusive organisations, career enablers, public transport and overall ease of living for women.

Other cities that featured in the top 10 included Gurugram, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Thiruvananthapuram and Coimbatore, highlighting the growing role of Tier-1 and select Tier-2 cities in enabling women’s careers and well-being. The report also noted that southern cities dominated the rankings, reflecting stronger social and industrial inclusion compared to other regions.

The report further said that the findings underscore the importance of city-level ecosystems in shaping women’s participation in the workforce. Cities that combined strong employment opportunities with safety, mobility and care infrastructure consistently ranked higher. The report also added that when cities work for women, the benefits extend beyond gender, strengthening local economies and long-term urban resilience.