Women in Indian leadership stand before a half-opened door, says Suneeta Reddy

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Almost six in 10 organisations in India have anywhere between 10% and 30% women in leadership roles but 9% of the firms don’t have a female leader at all, a survey by All India Management Association (AIMA) and KPMG has revealed.

“While we celebrate the phenomenal women who shattered barriers, the reality remains: women in Indian leadership stand before a half-opened door,” says Suneeta Reddy, Senior Vice President of AIMA and Managing Director at Apollo Hospitals Group.

She pointed to a “sobering statistic”, only 12% of C-suites in India have women at the helm. This, she says, paints a picture of missed opportunities for businesses, talented women, and true societal progress.

Her remark comes against the backdrop of the survey report that shows only 12% of companies have more than half of the leadership positions occupied by women. In 23% of organisations, the proportion of women in leadership positions goes up to 30% to 50%.

As per the analysis, past five-year trends display a positive picture where the majority of organisations have witnessed an increase in women leaders but 17% of firms show an opposite picture with either no change or decrease in women leaders count.

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TV Narendran, Vice-President of AIMA and CEO and Managing Director at Tata Steel, says Indian women are increasingly stepping forward with a burning ambition to lead. However, despite this ambition, numerous barriers continue to impede women’s advancement in the corporate hierarchy.

“Societal biases regarding gender roles often translate into real-world challenges at work. Unconscious bias, a phenomenon where individuals hold subtle, often unintentional, prejudices based on gender, can significantly impact women’s career progression. Recruitment and promotion processes might inadvertently favour male candidates due to these biases. This lack of a level-playing field can be incredibly disheartening for aspiring women leaders,” he believes.

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None of the barriers to women getting into leadership roles are not surprising. Family or caregiving responsibilities, gender bias and stereotypes, limited access to networking and mentorship, lack of equal opportunities and unequal pay or compensation were among the top reasons, the report shows.

“Deep-rooted social conditioning steers girls away from leadership aspirations, and work-life balance remains a constant struggle. Societal expectations disproportionately burden women with childcare and domestic duties. This is followed by unconscious biases at the workplace and a lack of robust mentorship programmes which further impede their rise,” Reddy says.

What needs to be done?

The AIMA-KPMG report identifies some key needs which require critical attention from organisations.

These include:

-A safe net for women to share specific concerns.

-Structured succession planning for women for their career development

-Networking Opportunities & Skill-build training workshops

-Mentorship and sponsorship programmes

-Advocacy for a stronger DE&I policy

-Equal access to opportunities and supportive organisational culture

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow