Female representation in India Inc among lowest globally: CSRI report

India is among the bottom-ranking countries when it comes to female representation at senior management levels, reveals a study by the Credit Suisse Research Institute (CSRI)

Women occupy just 8.5 per cent of the senior management positions at India Inc, much below its most global peers except South Korea and Japan. It is even lower when it comes to top-tier roles, such as chief executive officers and chief financial officers. 
 

Low female representation is a cause of concern for investors. According to CSRI, there is material correlation between firms with higher participation of women in decision-making roles, and their stock market and corporate performance.

India has seen improvement in female representation in boardrooms, thanks to a rule change that made it mandatory for companies to have at least one female board member.

In the past five years, female representation has increased by 430 basis points to 15.2 per cent. However, it is still below the global average of 20.6 per cent. 

The female representation is expected to improve from here, as markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India has mandated companies to have at least one independent female director.For the study, CSRI analysed the gender mix of the executive teams of over 3,000 companies, across 56 countries and comprising 30,000 executive positions.