Brands
Quest Global says 90 per cent of its women workforce is in engineering
Women make up 25 per cent of global workforce as leadership promotions and retention improve
BENGALURU: At Quest Global, the gender equation in engineering is being recalculated, and women are increasingly solving for X. Ahead of International Women’s Day 2026, the engineering services firm has revealed new workforce data showing that women are not only growing in number across the company but are also increasingly embedded in the organisation’s core technical and leadership pipelines.
Women currently make up 25 per cent of Quest Global’s global workforce, but the more striking statistic lies in where they work. Nine out of ten women employees, roughly 90 per cent, are in technical and engineering roles. In an industry where women globally account for about 28 per cent of the Stem workforce, the company’s numbers suggest a different narrative, one where female talent is not clustered in support functions but directly involved in solving complex engineering challenges.
The trend is visible across several delivery centres. At the company’s Trivandrum facility, one of its largest engineering hubs, women represent 46 per cent of the workforce, compared with 54 per cent men, making it one of the more gender-balanced technical environments within the organisation.
Beyond representation, Quest Global says the momentum is also evident in leadership mobility. The share of women promoted into managerial roles rose to 25 per cent in 2025, up from 20 per cent in 2024, marking a five percentage point year-on-year increase.
Retention metrics show an equally notable shift. Female attrition has fallen sharply to 6 per cent in FY26 year to date, a significant drop from 18 per cent in FY24, indicating improved career continuity and engagement. Across the organisation, voluntary attrition has declined between FY24 and FY26 year to date, with women consistently recording lower exit rates than men.
For Quest Global senior vice president, people and cultureSonia Kutty, the numbers signal more than incremental progress.
“At Quest Global, our focus has been to ensure that women engineers are not just represented, but meaningfully engaged in core technical roles and leadership pathways,” she said. “Seeing over 90 per cent of our women employees contributing directly to engineering reflects our commitment to creating an environment where technical talent can thrive.”
She added that the rise in managerial promotions and stronger retention figures demonstrate that inclusive growth is becoming embedded within the organisation rather than remaining a one-off initiative.
Quest Global co-founder and CEO Ajit Prabhu, said diversity is becoming increasingly critical as engineering challenges grow more complex.
“Engineering innovation thrives on diverse perspectives, and increasing participation of women in technical roles is essential to solving the complex challenges industries face today,” he said. “Our progress reflects a deliberate effort to build long-term careers for women engineers, from early talent development to leadership opportunities.”
The push for deeper inclusion is also supported internally through initiatives such as “together,” the company’s employee resource group focused on strengthening community and representation. Group executive sponsor and chief strategy officer Yumi Clevenger-Lee, said building engineering excellence and inclusive career pathways must evolve together.
“Enabling more women to participate and lead in core technical roles is essential to driving innovation and long-term impact,” she said, noting that sustained leadership development and performance-driven opportunities are central to how the company builds careers.
The company’s data arrives at a time when global industries are grappling with persistent engineering talent shortages and rapid technological change. Increasing the participation of women in technical fields is increasingly seen as a crucial lever for sustaining innovation and workforce resilience.
To mark International Women’s Day 2026, Quest Global has also released a three-minute video featuring two of its women leaders, highlighting career journeys and reinforcing the company’s broader focus on advancing women in engineering and leadership.
If the numbers are any indication, the company’s approach suggests that the future of engineering may not simply be about building smarter machines, but also about building more inclusive teams to design them.
Brands
Faber-Castell India appoints Sunaina Haldar as director – marketing
With stints at Tata, SleepyCat and ADF Foods under her belt, Haldar is primed to redraw Faber-Castell’s brand story
MUMBAI: Faber-Castell India has poached Sunaina Haldar from ADF Foods, appointing her director – marketing as the German stationery brand looks to muscle up in a category that is rapidly reinventing itself around creativity and self-expression.
Haldar hit the ground running. “My first couple of weeks have been incredibly energising, understanding consumers, visiting markets, engaging with retailers and immersing myself into the world of Faber-Castell Group,” she said.
She arrives with considerable firepower. At ADF Foods, Haldar ran marketing across India and international markets for a portfolio spanning Ashoka, Aeroplane, Camel and ADF Soul. Before that, she was vice-president – marketing at direct-to-consumer mattress brand SleepyCat, where she helmed brand, content and performance marketing. Her résumé also includes a stint leading marketing, new product development and CRM for Tata SmartFoodz at Tata Consumer Products, no small proving ground.
Between corporate roles, Haldar also operated as a fractional CMO for early-stage startups, building marketing strategy and operational structures from scratch, a signal that she knows how to move fast with limited resources.
With 18 years straddling FMCG, D2C and the startup world, Haldar now takes the reins at a brand that has long owned the classroom but is clearly hungry for the living room. In a stationery market where the pencil has become a lifestyle statement, Faber-Castell has picked someone who knows exactly how to sell that story.
