Beyond hiring: How Myntra is building longer-term careers for women in tech

Myntra, a technology-first organization, recognizes that advancements in AI are transforming roles and skill requirements. To stay ahead, the company is focusing on developing longer-term careers for women in tech through initiatives such as returnships, mentorship, and leadership pathways. Myntra's CHRO, Govindraj MK, emphasizes that AI is shifting the focus from routine execution to problem-solving, product judgment, and domain expertise.

To support this shift, Myntra offers learning opportunities through Mynverse, proficiency assessments, and development plans. The company is also addressing the need to increase representation of women in technology and leadership roles. By strengthening the pipeline in engineering, product, data, and AI-led positions, Myntra aims to enable more women to progress into senior technical, product, and enterprise leadership positions.

To support women in engineering, product, and data roles, Myntra provides Ascend and Ascend X programs which offer mentoring, leadership exposure, and live projects. Additionally, Circle of Strength and various support programs cater to different life stages, such as maternity, paternity, adoption, and surrogacy assistance. Phoenix, Myntra's returnship program, has been successful in reintegrating women with career breaks into full-time roles, with a high transition rate into technology careers.

Mentorship, sponsorship, and access to accomplished leaders are also crucial in helping women progress into senior technology and business leadership roles. Myntra measures the effectiveness of its diversity and inclusion initiatives by assessing opportunities created across the employee journey, including representation, capability-building, internal mobility, returnship conversion, and leadership pipeline strength.