New Delhi. After a detailed study conducted on the basis of safe environment, equal work opportunities and social freedom for women in India, a new list of women-friendly cities has been released. In this report prepared after a thorough assessment of 125 cities of the country, Karnataka’s capital Bangalore has once again won. According to the report, Bangalore has emerged as the most favorable city in the country for women to live, work and advance in their career.
To prepare this ranking, City Inclusion Score (CIS) has been used as the basis, in which both social inclusion and industrial inclusion were measured. Bangalore secured the first position with a score of 53.2. Being an IT and startup hub, the qualities like better work-life balance, abundant employment opportunities and digital empowerment were in favor of women. According to the report, women here experience security as well as personal freedom. Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, has got the second place in the list, which achieved a score of 49.8. Chennai has performed exemplary especially in the areas of public services, health, education and transport safety. Pune city of Maharashtra stood third, where improvement in women’s economic participation and living standards was seen. After this, Hyderabad was at fourth place and Mumbai, the city of dreams, was at fifth place. Mumbai has got a rating of 44.4, although it is far behind Bangalore in terms of score.
The most shocking improvement in this time’s report was seen in Gurugram, Haryana. Gurugram was the only city from the National Capital Region (NCR) to make it to the top-10. The city, which was ranked ninth in the previous ranking, has jumped three places to reach the sixth position. Interestingly, major cities like Delhi and Noida failed to make it to the top 10 list this time. Kolkata remained at seventh place in the ranking, while Ahmedabad of Gujarat got eighth place. Strong security arrangements and skill development facilities for women in Ahmedabad were appreciated. Coimbatore impressed by finishing at tenth position, where street light audit and a less risky environment for women traveling late at night were praised. Based on data from 2022 till date, this 2025 report shows that sensitivity and inclusivity towards women is gradually increasing in India’s urban structure, with women now feeling more empowered on both social and professional fronts.
