Why Are There So Few Women Leaders?

Only around 6% companies on the Fortune India 500 list are managed by women.

- Arnika Thakur

The world economic forum says that at the current rate of change, it will take 108 years to close the overall gender gap and 202 years to bring parity in the workplace. India has one of the lowest female labour force participation rates in the world and a majority of women work in the informal sector. Even though there are more women graduates, the number of those joining the corporate sector and rising to the top remains abysmally low.

A close look at this year’s Fortune India 500 list reveals how acute the problem is. Just 29 companies on this year’s list have women leaders with executive powers.

The list of women heading some of India’s largest corporations includes Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, chairperson and managing director, Biocon, No. 243 on the list; Kaku Nakhate, president and country head, India, Bank of America (BofA), which is at No. 370; and Meher Pudumjee of Thermax, which is at No. 240.

Renu Sud Karnad, managing director of HDFC Ltd, which is at No. 16 on the Fortune India 500 list, says when it comes to leadership positions, the numbers tilt against women for various factors— one reason being women’s role as primary caregivers in the family, which often makes them leave their careers midway.

“One major challenge that women always face is ‘work-life balance’. Those who can achieve the right balance will succeed... The balancing act between family and work leaves women with almost no time to socialise professionally. Effective networking is a necessity for a good leader,” she says.

There are some sectors that have seen a significant number of women leaders in recent years. Take banking and insurance. This year, apart from BofA and HDFC, there are several other companies in the sector headed by women, like Corporation Bank (No. 86), which has P.V. Bharathi as its MD and CEO; and Indian Bank (No. 73) where Padmaja Chunduru is MD and CEO.