India fares poorly in leadership roles for women

India has the third lowest population of women in leadership roles, even less than countries like Nigeria and Indonesia, according to a Grant Thornton report.
The report by the assurance, tax and advisory firm says the proportion of senior management roles held by women in India stood at just 15 per cent, followed by Germany at 14 per cent and Japan at 8 per cent.
Interestingly, Nigeria has 21 per cent of women in leadership roles and Indonesia has 20 per cent of women in senior management positions.
The proportion of senior management roles held by women are the highest in Russia where 40 per cent of top brass are female executives.

"Japan and India may be at very different stages of their development but they share certain cultural features, such as strong hierarchy and patriarchal societies, which prevent women from reaching the upper echelons of the business world," Grant Thornton Advisory Director Pallavi Bakhru said.
The report further said India fares poorly in terms of number of women in leadership roles like CEO/Managing Director from among 35 economies. Armenia ranks lowest.

The proportion of senior roles held by women in Asia Pacific has dropped to 20 per cent, below both the global average (22 per cent).
Much more fluctuation is evident in emerging nations, with China dropping to 25 per cent, down from an average of 32 per cent across the past decade, Thailand to 27 per cent (from 37 per cent), Malaysia to 22 per cent (from 27 per cent) and Indonesia to 20 per cent (from 31 per cent).

"Emerging Asia Pacific economies have historically benefited from cheap childcare infrastructure in the form of relatives living nearby, allowing women to go out to work. However mass urbanisation is starting to erode these support structures as well as raising aspirations and increasing job opportunities for women, meaning many choose to have children later in life, if at all," Bakhru said.
The findings of the report pose challenges not just for businesses but for governments, society and women too, Bakhru said, adding that governments can support this by facilitating shared parental leave but also building the infrastructure to allow women to thrive in the workforce.