The report shows that while women make up 23% of employees in listed companies, their representation continues to decline as one moves up the corporate hierarchy. Only 14% of Key Management Personnel (KMPs), 10% of Executive Directors and only 5% of Managing Directors or Chief Executive Officers are women.
According to Pranav Haldia, managing director of PRIME Database Group, the data reflects the classic “leaky bucket” phenomenon, where women gradually fall out of the leadership pipeline. She said there is an urgent need for policies and supportive practices to ensure that women do not have to leave the workforce mid-career due to childcare and other caregiving responsibilities.
At board level, representation has improved over time. As of February 23, 2026, about 98% of the 2,285 companies listed on the NSE main board had at least one woman director, up from 97% a year earlier. 48 companies still have no women directors, 20 are public sector undertakings.
Overall, 2,898 women currently hold 3,738 directorship positions, accounting for 21% of all board seats. This marks an increase from 18% in March 2021 and just 5% in March 2014, when the requirement to appoint at least one female director to boards was first announced. Haldia noted that regulation plays an important role in improving board representation. However, progress has slowed since companies largely complied with the regulatory mandate. He also pointed out that when the rule was introduced in 2014, many companies had appointed female relatives of promoters or their prominent figures, diluting the objective of gender diversity.
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However, the number of companies with two or more women directors has increased from 35% in March 2021 to 47% currently. About 88% of companies now have at least one independent female director, while companies with two or more female independent directors have increased from 10% to 21% over the same period.
Women hold 28% of independent directorship positions but only 10% of executive directorships. At the very top, representation remains particularly limited. Only 119 companies or 5% of the total have a woman MD or CEO. Of the 130 women leading these companies, about 69% belong to the promoter group, indicating the limited presence of professional women leaders outside the promoter families.
Women also remain rare in other senior roles. Outside the promoter group, professional executive women directors account for only 7% of such positions. Meanwhile, only 6% of companies have women chairpersons, almost half of which belong to promoter groups.
The report also highlighted a significant gender gap in pay. Average remuneration of male executive directors in FY25 was Rs. 120 lakh, which for women was Rs. 69 lakhs was about 74% higher. Among non-promoter executive directors, the gap is wider, with men earning an average of Rs. 104 lakhs while for women Rs. 43 lakhs. Male KMPs earned about 77% more than the average female, while the average salary for male employees was 34% higher. Among workers, the gap widens even further, with men earning 86% more than women.
Interestingly, the trend is reversed for independent directors, where women earn slightly more. The average remuneration for women independent directors is Rs. 4.90 lakh as compared to Rs. 4.80 lakhs.
Sectorally, diversified, healthcare and IT companies had the highest representation of women directors at 23%, while energy had the lowest share at 17%. Among employees and workers, IT recorded the highest female participation, while commodity, industrial and utility sectors recorded the lowest levels.
(disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, opinions and views given by experts are their own. (These do not represent the views of the Economic Times.)
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