Leadership in top Indian firms: 5 percent are women
Thursday, 23 September 2010, 00:12 IST   |    2 Comments
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Leadership in top Indian firms: 5 percent are women
New Delhi: Portraying the stark gender imbalance in top corporate rungs, a study has found that women hold barely 5 percent of board positions in the country's top 100 companies. The study by Standard Chartered Bank along with non -profit organisation Community Business and Cranfield School of Management, studied top 100 companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, in terms of the representation of female directors on their boards. Out of the total of 1,112 directorships in companies comprising the BSE-100 index, just 59 directorships or 5.3 percent, are held by women, the study revealed. These directorships are held by 48 different women. "This percentage compares unfavourably not just with Canada (15 percent), the US (14.5 percent) and the UK (12.2 percent), but also markets such as Hong Kong (8.9 percent) and Australia (8.3 percent)," the study stated. The findings also revealed that 12 companies on the BSE-100 have more than one female director, seven firms have female executive directors and 2.5 percent of all executive director roles are held by women. "Given the impact of corporate governance on business performance, this research is critical not only in raising the awareness of the need to increase women's advancement to the board level, but also in creating a debate which I hope will encourage more discussion and thought around this topic," Standard Chartered's Group Executive Director and CEO Asia Jaspal Bindra said. The report also ranked the BSE-100 firms in terms of the gender diversity of their boards, with those with the highest percentage of women on their boards appearing at the top. At the top of the list is JSW Steel, which has three women (23.1 percent) on its board of 13 members. Oracle Financial Services Software is second with two women (22.2 percent) on its board of nine and Piramal Healthcare is third with 20.0 percent female board directors. Both of Piramal Healthcare's two female directors hold executive directorships, the only BSE-100 company with two executive female directors. Axis Bank comes at fourth place with two (18.2 percent) of its 11 board members being female, while Lupin and Titan both are ranked at fifth, with two women (16.7 percent) out of 12 board members. The most commonly cited reasons for the small female representation at board levels were that many women fall off the corporate ladder mid-career because family concerns. Moreover, women are perhaps less visible in the corporate environment and as a result, are not put forward in the nomination process, as often as men, it added.
Source: PTI
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