The representation of women on the boards of Indian companies has tripled in the last 10 years.
The EY report ‘Diversity in the Boardroom: progress and the way forward’ has found that between 2013 and 2022, the companies made rapid progress from 6% to 18%.
India’s progress is because of the corporate law that mandates a woman member on the board.
The EY report has found that nearly 95% of the NIFTY 500 companies have a woman on the board of directors. Yet, not even 5% of companies have female chairpersons, indicating that there is scope for improvement.
Key highlights of the report:
- The Lifesciences sector leads with the highest percentage of women on boards at 24%.
- Media and entertainment have seen an increase in women’s representation from 14% in 2017 to 23% in 2022. But the increase is not uniform, and because some organizations have exceeded the mandated quota, hiring more women directors.
- Technology (IT and ITeS), which has one of the highest female representations at 34%, has increased the average number of women on board from 1.19 in 2017 to 1.75 in 2022.
- The Energy and Utilities sector (Oil & Gas and Power & Utilities) has been stagnant at 15% in 2017 and 2022. Women’s participation is a mere 8%, with only 600 women in managerial and executive roles.
