Avtar

What Avtar does

Avtar Career Creators Limited, operating as Avtar, is a Chennai-headquartered for-profit social enterprise founded in December 2000 by Dr. Saundarya Rajesh. The company provides consulting, research, training, certification, and recruitment services focused exclusively on workforce culture, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), with particular emphasis on women's career advancement in India. It serves large enterprises across banking, financial services, technology, consulting, and consumer goods (logos include HSBC, Standard Chartered, ICICI, Deloitte, Accenture, Wells Fargo, PepsiCo, and Vodafone), alongside mid-size companies, SMEs, women professionals across career stages, and educational institutions. The company also operates Avtar Human Capital Trust as a CSR arm delivering Project Puthri and MITR programs.

Avtar's offerings are organized around a proprietary 6E Framework (Enrich, Enable, Embed, Experience, Extend, Endow) that supports three strategic pillars: Talent Solutions, Workforce Strategy, and Career Enablement Services. Core products include DEI consulting, assessment and benchmarking, the BCWI and MICI gender-inclusion studies run jointly with Seramount, the ACDA certification aligned with ISO 30415 delivered through Avtar Academy, culture-first hiring solutions, conference and awards platforms (Best of the Best, The Power of I, Segue Sessions, NHRDN-Avtar Diversity Champion Awards), and digital products such as myAvtar.com (India's first diversity job portal) and Flexurity. BRUHAT Insights Global functions as an AI/HR branch for bias reduction and workforce insights.

Avtar generates revenue primarily through professional services (consulting, training, recruitment, certification), supplemented by event and award fees plus sponsorship income. Go-to-market is enterprise sales-led with direct B2B engagement across India, plus an emerging GCC presence via the BCWG study. The company claims impact metrics including 100,000+ women hired, 500+ organizations impacted, 25,000+ leaders trained, and 3,000+ companies participating annually in BCWI/MICI. No external funding rounds are disclosed; the company is founder-owned and operated, and became the first DEI solutions firm in South India to receive ISO 20700 certification in 2024.

Name

Avtar

Legal name

Avtar Career Creators Limited

Website

https://avtarinc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Avtar is a Chennai-headquartered DEI consulting, research, and talent solutions firm founded in 2000, serving large enterprises across India and the GCC with proprietary benchmarking frameworks, certification programs, and women's career advancement services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Workplace Inclusion and DEI Consulting Services

NAICS

Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Strategy Advisory (BPAHADAA)

Keywords

• DEI consulting services
• Workplace inclusion solutions
• Gender diversity benchmarking
• Second career programs
• Culture transformation consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Chennai

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. DEI Consulting Services: Culture transformation consulting, DEI assessment, and organizational readiness diagnostics for corporate clients across India.
2. Training and Certification Programs: DEI certification programs including Avtar Certified Diversity Auditor (ACDA), and courses through Avtar Academy for individuals and teams.
3. Specialized Recruitment Solutions: Talent acquisition services including second-career hiring programs, culture-first hiring, and diversity recruitment solutions.
4. Research and Benchmarking: BCWI and MICI benchmarking studies, TCWI city rankings, and industry research reports for corporate participation.
5. Events and Awards: Conference fees, award registration charges, and sponsorship revenue from events like Best of the Best, The Power of I, and NHRDN-Avtar Diversity Champion Awards.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

Avtar is a for-profit social enterprise providing research-driven DEI consulting, diversity audits, workplace culture transformation, and specialized recruitment services. It delivers end-to-end solutions—advisory, training, certification, benchmarking, and talent acquisition—through a proprietary 6E framework spanning Enrich, Enable, Embed, Experience, Extend, and Endow verticals. Offerings target large corporations, mid-market firms, educational institutions, and women professionals across India and the GCC.

Product overview

Avtar is a for-profit social enterprise focused exclusively on workforce culture, inclusion, and women's career advancement since 2000. Its offering is a platform-plus-modules architecture organized around a Three-Pillar model (Talent Solutions, Workforce Strategy, Career Enablement Services) delivered through the 6E Framework (Enrich, Enable, Embed, Experience, Extend, Endow). The core consulting services (DEI Consulting, DEI Assessment, DEI Benchmarking) are supplemented by training and certification programs (Avtar Academy, DEI Certification Programs, ACDA), talent solutions (Culture-first Hiring, ULCA), and experiential programs (Best of the Best Conference, The Power of I, Segue Sessions, NHRDN-Avtar Diversity Champion Awards). Its research and benchmarking products include BCWI, MICI, BCWG, and TCWI. Social impact initiatives are delivered through Avtar Human Capital Trust (Project Puthri, MITR). Supporting digital platforms include Avtar Academy (online courses), myAvtar.com (diversity job portal), and avtarwomen.com (second-career women portal).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Avtar Academy: Educational initiative offering DEI certification courses and workplace culture and inclusion training programs for individuals and organizations.
• MITR (Men Impacting Trust & Respect)
• Project Puthri
• Top Cities for Women in India (TCWI)
• NHRDN-Avtar Diversity Champion Awards
• Power of I
• Segue Sessions
• Best of the Best Conference
• Diversity Mahotsav

Products and services

• DEI Consulting Advisory services helping organizations build and navigate a sustainable DEI journey with research-backed insights, assessments, and benchmarking frameworks. For corporate clients seeking end-to-end diversity strategy.
• DEI Assessment Organizational readiness and commitment assessments to evaluate diversity maturity and identify gaps in gender diversity and inclusion practices. For HR leaders and DEI teams in enterprises.
• DEI Benchmarking Benchmarking services that compare organizations against industry standards and best practices for DEI, including the BCWI and MICI Yearbook. For enterprises participating in workforce inclusion studies.
• Avtar Certified Diversity Auditor (ACDA) Gold-standard DEI practitioner certification program aligned with ISO 30415, covering workshops, best-practice sharing, and assessments. For HR professionals and DEI champions.
• DEI Primer Certification Foundational certification program on workplace inclusion for individuals and teams beginning their DEI journey.
• Women Advancement Courses Structured learning programs covering career coaching, skilling, and advancement for women professionals across early, mid, and mature career stages.
• Building Inclusive Workplaces Training programs building behavioral readiness and team awareness to create workplace habits that support trust, inclusion, and performance. For corporate teams and managers.
• Culture-First Hiring Talent solutions shaping hiring practices and leadership pathways to attract and grow diverse talent aligned with organizational culture. For enterprise HR teams seeking diversity recruitment.
• Upskilling, Leadership and Career Avenues (ULCA) Programs providing upskilling and leadership development to help employees advance their careers within inclusive organizational cultures.
• Best of the Best Conference Flagship annual conference showcasing best DE&I practices of top-ranked companies from the BCWI study; editions held in India and the Gulf. For corporate DEI leaders and HR professionals.
• The Power of I Conference Annual cutting-edge conference on diversity and workplace transformation, with multiple editions across India and the Gulf.
• Segue Sessions Skill-building and career creation conferences for women professionals, held in partnership with corporations to help women re-enter the workforce.
• NHRDN-Avtar Diversity Champion Awards Awards program recognizing individual leaders accelerating DEI in the workplace across Gender, People with Disabilities, and LGBTQ+ categories. Includes registration fees for participation.
• DEI for Suppliers, Vendors, and Partners Foundational DEI solutions for SMEs and MSMEs including hiring, training, and culture programs suited to their scale and growth.
• ESG Services Environmental, Social, and Governance advisory services helping organizations integrate DEI into broader sustainability strategies.
• Top Cities for Women in India (TCWI) Annual research study ranking Indian cities on women's inclusion across participation, safety, and career continuity using a composite City Inclusion Score.
• Career Enablement Services (CES) Structured career coaching, skilling, and development support helping women professionals re-enter work and progress into future-ready roles.
• Avtar Academy Online learning platform offering self-paced DEI courses including Basics of Inclusion, Non-Conscious Bias, LGBTQ+ Inclusion, Inclusive Leadership, and DEI Certification for individuals and teams.
• Best Companies for Women in India (BCWI) India's largest gender-analytics exercise, conducted in partnership with Seramount, assessing over 450 metrics across 3,000+ participating companies annually.
• Most Inclusive Companies Index (MICI) Framework developed with Seramount for organizations to assess and adopt best practices for comprehensive workplace inclusion.
• Best Companies for Women in Gulf (BCWG) Study enabling companies in the GCC to gain recognition for their efforts towards creating equitable and inclusive workplaces for women.
• DigiPivot Digital marketing capability workshop for women professionals, built in partnership with Google India and the Indian School of Business.
• Flexurity Proprietary assessment and algorithmic tools for remote workforce management, helping organizations manage distributed teams.
• myAvtar.com Diversity Job Portal India's first exclusive diversity job portal connecting underrepresented talent pools—including second-career women—with employers.
• avtarwomen.com (formerly Avtar I-WIN) India's first diversity recruitment portal for businesses to engage second-career women professionals seeking part-time/flexi-time assignments.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100,000+ women hired through talent solutions
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• CII (Confederation of Indian Industry)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Collaboration with CII to launch Diversitea podcast series commemorating Avtar's 25th anniversary.
• NHRDN (National HRD Network)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Avtar collaborated with NHRDN to institute the Diversity Champions Award, celebrating individual leaders accelerating diversity, equity, and inclusion. The awards honor leaders from large and mid-size companies and MSME sector across Gender, People with Disabilities, and LGBTQ+ Community categories.
• AccenturecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Exclusive leadership program for women called 'Vaahini Women' featuring expert-led panels to sharpen and upskill experienced women into leadership roles.
• Google IndiacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Partnership with Google India to build DigiPivot - a digital marketing capability workshop for women in India. The program has run multiple cohorts (4th, 5th editions mentioned) building digital marketing skill sets for women professionals.
• Indian School of Business (ISB)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Collaborated with Google and ISB to build DigiPivot program for women's digital marketing capability development.
• Working Mother GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Partnership to devise MICI (Most Inclusive Companies Index) and organize Global Advancement for Women Conference in Dubai.
• Seramount (formerly Working Mother Media)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Long-standing partnership to conduct India's first and largest gender-analytics exercises - Best Companies for Women in India (BCWI) and Most Inclusive Companies Index (MICI). The partnership has conducted 8+ editions with 3,000+ companies participating annually.
• 40 Corporations (PepsiCo, Unilever, Capgemini, Deutsche Bank, Vodafone, Accenture, Genpact, Deloitte)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 201214 editions of Segue Sessions (2011-2018) in partnership with 40 corporations, benefitting over 5,000 women. Partner corporations created talent tracks for returning women and now hire over 10,000 second-career women each year.
• The HinduminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2011Partnered with The Hindu to host India's first career fair for women professionals, with special focus on second-career women. Over 25,000 women professionals attended.
• Madura Micro FinanceminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008Placed 364 first-generation women graduates from small villages as mentors for self-help groups.
• CII (Confederation of Indian Industry)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2003Knowledge partner for CII's Managemantra - two-day job creation conference; hosted multiple editions where 2,000+ MBA graduates competed for jobs.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Seramount (formerly Working Mother Media): US-based DEI research and benchmarking firm that is Avtar's long-standing partner for BCWI and MICI studies. It is directly comparable as a workforce inclusion benchmarking and content platform serving large enterprises globally, and operates in the same research/awards niche as Avtar.
• Great Place to Work Institute: Global workplace culture certification and benchmarking firm that produces widely used Best Workplaces lists and culture assessments. It is directly comparable to Avtar's Best Companies for Women in India and Most Inclusive Companies Index products, with the same enterprise buyer (CHRO, DEI lead) and same benchmarking-led GTM.
• Catalyst: Global nonprofit focused on workplace inclusion for women, producing research, benchmarks, and advisory services for large enterprises. Directly comparable to Avtar's research and consulting offerings in the DEI category, though Catalyst is global and nonprofit rather than India-focused and for-profit.
• Diversity Best Practices (HCI): Membership and advisory arm of the Human Capital Institute focused on D&I benchmarking, summits, and research for CHROs. Directly comparable to Avtar's benchmarking, conferences (Best of the Best, Power of I), and D&I advisory stack serving enterprise HR leaders.
• EDGE Certified Foundation: Global certification body for gender equality in workplaces and academia, offering assessment and certification across more than 200 organizations in 50+ countries. Directly comparable to Avtar's ACDA certification, ISO 30415 alignment, and benchmarking-led certification GTM in workforce inclusion.

Broad incumbents

• Mercer (DEI and Workforce Strategy practice): Global consulting firm with a substantial DEI, rewards, and workforce strategy practice serving multinational employers. Comparable to Avtar's workforce strategy pillar, but as part of a broader HR consulting portfolio rather than a DEI specialist, with deeper global reach but less India-specific depth.
• Korn Ferry: Global organizational consulting firm with talent acquisition and DEI advisory offerings serving large enterprises. Comparable to Avtar's talent solutions and culture strategy practices, but as part of a much broader portfolio (executive search, assessment, RPO) rather than a DEI-only focus.
• Heidrick & Struggles: Global executive search and leadership advisory firm with DEI-related culture and leadership assessment practices. Comparable to Avtar's Culture-first Hiring, ULCA, and leadership development offerings, though operating at a more senior/executive level and as part of broader leadership advisory.
• Randstad India: India arm of global staffing and HR services giant with established RPO, talent solutions, and inclusion-focused practices. Comparable to Avtar's diversity recruitment, myAvtar.com portal, and talent solutions offerings, with broader staffing breadth but less specialized DEI focus.

Regional players

• TeamLease Services: India-based staffing, HR services, and workforce solutions firm with growing DEI and women-employment programs. Comparable to Avtar's second-career hiring, talent solutions, and women's workforce participation work, but focused on staffing and compliance rather than DEI strategy and research.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCs363q89FlEpOBYYxEaWtiQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/AvtarThePowerofDiversity
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/avtar-the-power-of-diversity/?viewAsMember=true
• Instagraminstagram.com/avtarinc
• Xx.com/avtarinc

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Avtar