Women in leadership: Overcoming gender barriers

While women’s corporate representation is increasing, their presence in executive roles remains disproportionate 

Anindita Acharya, 18 July 2024 : When I entered PepsiCo, in 1994, there were zero women CEOs. In 2021, there are 41 women CEOs. Have we made progress? Optimistically, we’ve got 41 CEOs. That’s a big number. But it’s less than nine percent of the Fortune 500 CEOs. There’s lots of room for women to grow and ascend as CEOs,” said Indra Nooyi, former chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, in an interview with McKinsey in October 2021. 

Over the years, the representation of females in India’s workforce has grown from 23.9 percent in 2016 to 26.8 percent in 2024. However, there has been a decline in female representation at the managerial level, which stands at only 18.59 percent, according to a joint report by LinkedIn and Delhi-based think tank The Quantum Hub. 

The report ‘Women in Leadership in Corporate India’ showed a rise in senior female leadership from 16.6% in 2016 to 18.7% in 2023. However, there’s been a notable decline in key roles: 20.1% in director roles, 17.4% in vice president roles, and 15.3% in C-suite positions. 

Despite role models like Falguni Nayyar, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Devika Bulchandani, Radhika Gupta, Roshni Nadar, Leena Nair, and Indra Nooyi, the overall numbers paint a discouraging picture considering our efforts to promote women’s empowerment across sectors. 

“Unconscious bias still plays a big role - many people don’t even realise they are favouring traditional (often male) leadership styles. There is also a lack of mentorship opportunities for women, which is crucial for career advancement. And let’s not forget the ongoing struggle of balancing work and personal life, which often impacts women more heavily,” said Suchita Vishnoi, CMO Skillible. 

Dr Bhawna Priya, Assistant Professor, IIM Raipur, doesn’t mince her words when she mentioned that key obstacles to rise in the corporate ladder for women include gender pay gap, work-life balance challenges, family responsibilities and limited access to leadership opportunities. 

According to her, mentorship programmes, maternity friendly policies, and transparent promotion processes alongside inclusion training for all employees can advance the cause. She believes government support and proposed policies, like mandating minimum female representation on boards, offering tax incentives for diverse leadership, improving public childcare support, and strengthening anti-discrimination laws, can create a more equal workplace. 

Of course, women have almost achieved parity with men in entry-level roles but their representation in leadership positions remains significantly lower. Gender disparity in corporate leadership is a real issue. 

A former VP of a prominent private bank shared her experience of being denied a promotion due to family responsibilities. She recounted how, when asked to travel for work with her nine-month-old baby, the company instead sent a male subordinate without informing her. “Women’s representation may have improved in the workplace over time with the introduction of several women-friendly policies, but biases continue, particularly because women often have to juggle family and professional responsibilities,” she said on the condition of anonymity. 

Even Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stressed the need for more women on boards, noting boards should not remain exclusive men’s clubs. She acknowledged varying attitudes among men, from condescending to supportive. 

According to a Deloitte report, women held 18.3% of board seats in India Inc. in 2023. However, disparities remain. A study showed only 1.6% of Fortune India 500 companies have female CEOs. NSE data shows 100 companies with women as managing directors or CEOs, totaling 109 directorships held by women. 

“Industries such as education and government administration exhibit the highest representation of women in leadership positions, followed by administrative and support services, hospitals, and healthcare. 

Sectors such as technology, information, media, and financial services demonstrate a moderate representation of women in leadership roles,” said Prof. Mahadeo Jaiswal, Director, IIM Sambalpur. 

Having said that, a report by LinkedIn highlighted that even in industries where women dominate the majority of positions, such as hospitals and healthcare (around 70%) and education (about 60%), they still face challenges in achieving equal representation in senior positions. 

LONGHOUSE Consulting’s recent report found that CFO positions see 40% female representation in India, and HR director roles see 50%. However, the report also stated that overall senior-level positions for women stood at 20% in 2023, primarily due to lower experience levels. 

Jaideep Kewalramani, COO and Head of Employability Business, TeamLease Edtech, believes promoting gender diversity requires diversity policies, creating supportive work environments and developing mentorship programmes. 

“Training and skilling intervention to reduce the gender gap is required across three dimensions - leadership, male peers and for the women workforce. Organisation leaders need to develop mechanisms to spot and nurture women talent in the organisation in addition to sponsoring supportive policies and work environments. 

The male peers need to be sensitized in recognising biases and techniques to overcome those biases that will aid women progression at the workplace in an equal manner,” he said. 

The glass ceiling remains a reality, and gender disparities in the labour market cannot be eliminated through a single policy. 

Vishnoi believes it’s high time to create workplace policies that truly support work-life balance. “When it comes to skills, the game is changing rapidly. In today’s digital age, continuous learning is not just beneficial - it’s essential. Women need to focus on future-proofing their careers by staying ahead of the curve in areas like emerging technologies, data analytics, and digital leadership,” she said.