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 With more women from Tier-II and Tier-III Indian cities joining the workforce, their median salary has increased by 34 per cent over the past three years, a new report said on Thursday.

According to job and professional networking platform Apna.co, the number of women job seekers from smaller cities has increased four times between 2021 and 2024.

Job applications from these regions have also tripled, reaching 12.8 million in 2024. This trend highlights a growing shift in employment patterns beyond major metro cities.

Several factors have contributed to this rise, including more job opportunities, better digital accessibility, and changing hiring strategies by employers.

These developments have encouraged more women from non-metro areas to explore different career paths and participate in the workforce.

Sales, business development, administrative roles, and customer support have become the most popular job sectors for women in smaller cities, making up 55 per cent of total job applications.

Additionally, many women are showing interest in careers in marketing, banking, retail, human resources, hospitality, teaching, and healthcare.

A rising number of women are also entering unconventional roles, with nearly six lakh applications in field sales, 2.5 lakh in delivery and logistics, and 1.5 lakh in security services in 2024.

Cities such as Lucknow, Jaipur, Indore, Bhopal, Surat, Nagpur, and Coimbatore have emerged as major job hubs for women, contributing to 45 per cent of total job applications, the report said.

Other cities like Kanpur, Bhubaneswar, Ranchi, Chandigarh, Patna, Ludhiana, Vadodara, and Guwahati are also growing as key employment centres.

A major trend observed is the increasing participation of fresh graduates. Data from Apna.co shows that the number of freshers among women job seekers in Tier-II and III cities has risen 2.5 times, reaching nearly nine lakh in 2024.

This indicates that more young women are looking for jobs immediately after finishing their education. Digital job platforms have played a crucial role in helping fresh graduates find work opportunities more easily.