Women in the Boardroom: A global perspective

Diversity, equity, and inclusion, and the push for gender parity in the boardrooms and corner offices of India Inc., has been at the forefront for several years in India. And, as the statistics reveal, the number of women in Indian boardrooms is slowly but constantly rising.

The eighth edition of the Deloitte Global Boardroom Program’s Women in the boardroom: A global perspective report reveals a gradual increase in the number of board seats held by women across India Inc., with women holding 18.3 percent board seats in 2023, up from 13.8 percent in 2018. 

The eighth edition of Women in the Boardroom: A Global Perspective reveals that women hold less than a quarter (23.3%) of board seats globally, a 3.6 percentage point increase since the report’s last edition was published in 2022. Despite initiatives around the world to increase the number of women serving on boards, gender parity is unlikely to be achieved before 2038. And, there is no clear path to gender parity in the board chair or CEO role. The latest edition of the report analysed more than 18,000 companies in 50 countries and geographies, exploring representation of women in the boardroom, as well as insights on the political, social, and legislative trends behind these numbers.

Boardroom diversity requires a paradigm shift. Since many companies prefer to recruit board members with CEO or CFO experience, these numbers do not paint an optimistic outlook for pipeline development. Companies need to expand their skills profiles to further diversify their boards while shoring up critical skill gaps. India Inc. must break from historical patterns and prioritise capabilities over past roles. By nurturing governance expertise creatively and regularly evaluating the progress, a robust pipeline of talented women leaders can be cultivated for a brighter future in corporate governance.

Shefali Goradia

Chairperson, Deloitte South Asia