According to the study by CIEL HR titled “FMCD Sector: Talent Trends and Insights,” only 9% of India’s Fast Moving Consumer Durables (FMCD) workforce is formed by women.
The cumulative hiring growth of the FMCD sector between May 2023 to May 2025 stood at an impressive 30%. However, the women’s representation remains low, especially in manufacturing, sales, and technical roles. This makes FMCD one of the sectors with the lowest women’s representation.
“The FMCD sector is at a critical inflection point where diversity can drive significant competitive advantage,” said Aditya Narayan Mishra, MD & CEO of CIEL HR Services.
“Companies that proactively address this low participation rate of women in their workforce will not only access a wider talent pool but also benefit from diverse perspectives that fuel innovation and better consumer understanding, particularly as women influence the majority of consumer purchasing decisions,” Mishra added. “Inclusivity must go beyond symbolic measures and be embedded at every level, from shop floors to boardrooms.”
The report also highlighted the new opportunities emerging in areas beyond the metro cities. A total of 22% of FMCD postings are now set in tier 2 cities. This has been attributed to the growing consumer interest in white goods such as cooling appliances, inverters, and home electronics across non-metro markets. The trend highlights the increasing geographic diversification in hiring as well as the emergence of new consumer markets that go beyond metro hubs.
With FMCD companies moving beyond manufacturing into differentiated consumer experiences, the demand for industrial designers, data engineers, product managers, and customer success specialists is also on the rise, as per the CIEL report.
Additionally, the report added that 14% of executives in the FMCD sector have changed jobs in the last 1 year, similar to the trends in the IT & ITeS sector. The movement rate is also higher than observed in the BFSI, retail, and manufacturing sectors, indicating a highly competitive and dynamic talent market.
FMCD Employees have shown a tendency to move between different FMCD employers rather than switching sectors, highlighting, as per the report, the value placed on industry-specific experience and domain familiarity. Top talent seekers in the industry include Havells, Voltas, Blue Star, Whirlpool, Orient Electric, CG Power, Panasonic, and Luminous.
The majority of hiring in the sector is concentrated in junior to mid-level roles for operational, sales, and support functions. As per the report, the ₹6 to 10 lakh bracket has the highest share of job postings at 34.60%. This is followed by the ₹3 to 6 lakh bracket at 27.52%. For this report, CIEL used data from 1,00,000 executives within India’s FMCD sector as well as 1.005 job postings.
