Women Directors

On International Women's Day, 59 professionals launched 'She Directs Ads' initiative to celebrate, connect, and create opportunities for women directors

The presence of women directors in active corporate companies has increased over three-fold in the last 10 years, while in Tamil Nadu it has jumped over four-fold, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Wednesday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government has been encouraging women's participation across sectors and this has been visible in the funds allocated to schemes allotted for women empowerment in the Budget, she said at an event here. Women are also rising on the corporate ladder and in the startup and financial technology space, about 18 per cent of 111 unicorns (valued at USD 1 billion) are led by women in India, she said. The Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister was speaking at a conference on Women Rising - The Unseen Barriers in Power, Politics and Otherwise, organised by the FICCI-FLO Chennai Chapter. On the number of women directors in active companies, she said, "At the all India level, there are 8.83 lakh women directors associated with active companie

In 2024, women directors held 22% of board positions in Nifty50 companies, up from 18% in 2019, said the study

There are currently 117,254 startups in the country, according to data from the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade

Sebi had fined 20 companies till September for FY 2023-24 against 64 in 2019-20

Data from Prime Database shows that there are 2,350 women and 10,356 men holding position of directors at listed firms

The company said the remuneration proposed to be paid to the independent directors is comparable with the remuneration being paid for similar assignments in the industry

However, women still account for less than a fifth of directorships among Nifty500 companies

The focus should be on more women at middle management levels

At least 37 of the ones which missed the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) deadline were government-owned

The TIFF website points out that out of last year's top 250 films, only 20 per cent had women directors, writers, producers, editors or cinematographers

None of the major awards-giving bodies nominated a female director for a feature film this year

By the Companies Act of 2013, all listed entities need to have at least one woman in their board room

Capital markets watchdog had issued guidelines in February 2014, asking companies to appoint at least one woman director on their boards

While the support for the cause of greater representation of women directors on corporate boards is well meaning, it smacks of a patronising attitude. The focus should be on putting an end to exclusionary practices and on changing the mindset of board members