Women in Leadership in Corporate India

Posted 03 Jun 2024

2 min read

Report sheds light on progress made so far and outstanding challenges towards gender diversity and inclusion in women’s corporate leadership.

Globally, in lower-middle income countries, 19.2% firms had female top manager as against 17.3% in high-income countries. (World Bank, 2022)
In India
- Only 16% of employed people in senior and middle management positions were female in 2022. (World Bank)
- Substantial increase in proportion of women serving on boards over the past decade, from 6% in 2013 to 18% in 2022.

Gaps in enforcement of existing regulatory measures: During 2018-2023, 507 of companies have been fined for non-compliance with the Companies Act 2013 which mandates women directors on company boards.
Limited pool of women: Due to lower female labor force participation rates (37% in 2022-23), women dropping off the workforce due to familial responsibilities, etc.
Social conditioning: Women not applying for leadership roles due to their environments, cultural gender roles, etc.
Sector-wise discrepancies: Representation of women greatly varies across sectors with determining factors such as work environment, travel requirements, disparity in pay, number and nature of the work-hours, etc.

Companies Act, 2013: Mandates presence of at least one woman director on the governing board of certain class/ classes of companies.
Business Reporting requirements on Social Responsibility: Seeks data on women representation in workforce and leadership.

Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE): Pledged to make concerted efforts to address the gap with a focus on ensuring gender-diversity in leadership positions in Public Sector Enterprises.
There are similar initiatives from private sector corporations like Accenture, Cognizant, etc.