A Mint analysis of primeinfobase.com data for NSE-listed firms, categorized into market capitalization quartiles, reveals this distinct trend. As of February 2025, the bottom quartile comprising smaller companies shows the highest share of women executive directors, at nearly 15%. In contrast, corporate giants, the ones in the top 25% bracket, have the lowest representation at nearly 8%.
Despite this disparity, there is a slow but steady progress in firms embracing women in executive roles. The total share of executive directorship held by women across all the NSE-listed companies has increased to 11.1% as of February 2025, from 8.4% as on 31 March 2019, according to data from primeinfobase.com.
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Experts note that the inverse relation between diversity and company size comes from smaller companies’ push to retain ownership and control over their businesses.
“In the case of smaller companies, it is sometimes felt that, on account of compliance with law as well as retaining family control, immediate female relatives are being included at executive positions,” said Ruchika Bachchani, leader of diversity, equity, and inclusion at global professional services firm Forvis Mazars India.
Bachchani added that regardless of the motivations, diverse leadership is proving beneficial for these smaller companies, as different perspectives often strengthen their decision-making processes and drive business growth.
In contrast, large corporations lag in diversification attempts because their board composition tends to be more stable, owing to their size and scale of operations, said Mala Chawla, managing director at global executive search and leadership consulting firm Stanton Chase India and Singapore.
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“Smaller companies, still in their growth phase, are more agile in adapting to consumer needs. Many are led by female founders as well, resulting in a higher proportion of women in executive director roles,” Chawla added.
Since large corporations have more complex operations, in-house candidates or industry experts with proven track record are often prioritized for executive directorship positions. While such selections are usually gender agnostic, a shallow pool of women candidates often results in poorer representation at the top brass, noted Amrita Farmahan, CEO of wealth management company Ambit GPC.
The shallow pool, Farmahan said, further highlights that unlike men, most women drop out at mid-managerial levels to take care of personal responsibilities. “Hence, we don’t see a lot of women in executive positions running businesses. This shrinks the pool of female candidates for directorship positions,” she added.
But fixing these broken rungs also demands solutions from India Inc., which they are less inclined to do, according to Devina Mehra, founder and chief managing director of global asset management company First Global.
“The ‘mommy penalty’ is relatively high in the private sector,” Mehra said. “That is also why we see a better share of women in senior management of government and public sector enterprises—both in companies and organisations like Isro (Indian Space Research Organisation).”
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Moreover, entrenched hierarchies, slower decision-making processes, existing biases and insufficient career progression pathways also raise the glass ceiling in large corporations, noted Neeti Sharma, CEO of staffing solution firm TeamLease Digital.
Environment, social and governance (ESG) and sustainability concerns have also reshaped India Inc.’s stance on diversity lately. This is particularly evident in traditionally male-dominated manufacturing related sectors.
Sectoral bearkdown
A Mint analysis further shows that metals and mining, capital goods, and infrastructure and engineering sectors have seen a steady growth in women representation in executive roles in these six years, though we have a clear winner in consumer durables.
Consumer durable companies reported the sharpest increase in the share of women executives between FY24 and FY25, owing to the nature of the industry. “Consumer durables are heavily influenced by female purchasing decisions, so having women in leadership naturally aligns with business strategy. Women leaders bring valuable insights into product innovation, branding, and consumer engagement,” said Sharma of TeamLease Digital.
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Similarly, gradual inclusion of women in engineering and supply chain roles, the presence of “sticky” middle management positions, and breaks in targeted mentorship programs have slowed the pace at which women are entering decision-making roles in the auto, BFSI and pharma and healthcare sectors, she added.
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