Women are 23% of workforce, but only 119 of 2,285 listed firms have women CEOs

Women account for 23% of the workforce in Corporate India, yet only 119 out of 2,285 listed companies are led by women CEOs, highlighting the persistence of the “leaky bucket” phenomenon, according to a report released by PRIME Database Group’s platform Primeinfobase.com on the occasion of International Women’s Day.

The report shows that while women account for 23% of employees in listed companies, their share falls to 14% among key management personnel (KMPs), 10% among executive directors, and just 5% among managing directors or CEOs.

Pranav Haldea, Managing Director of PRIME Database Group, said that although India has made progress on some parameters, meaningful change at the top remains slow. “There is still a long journey ahead, with little changing over the past year,” he said.

According to Haldea, the critical need of the hour is to form policies and supportive practices and to make this a part of the board agenda to ensure that women do not have to leave in the middle of their careers for childcare and other caregiving responsibilities.

Women on boards

The study found that 98% of the 2,285 companies listed on the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) main board now have at least one woman director, up slightly from 97% a year earlier. However, 48 companies still do not have a woman director, including 20 public sector undertakings.

Overall, 2,898 women hold 3,738 board positions, accounting for 21% of total directorships. This has risen from 18% in 2021 and just 5% in 2014, when the regulatory requirement for companies to appoint at least one woman director was introduced, the data showed.

The number of companies with two or more women directors has increased to 47%, up from 35% in 2021. Meanwhile, 88% of companies now have at least one independent woman director, and the share of companies with two or more independent women directors has doubled to 21%.

Even so, women occupy only 10% of executive director positions, and just 5% of listed companies have a woman MD or CEO. Among these, 69% belong to promoter families, reflecting the limited presence of professional women leaders at the top.

Women in the workforce

The report analysed 1,213 companies that filed Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reports. Among them, women account for 582 out of 4,299 KMPs, or 14%, marginally higher than 13% last year.

Women make up 23% of the total employee base, equivalent to 18.8 lakh women among 82.47 lakh employees, while their representation among workers is 11%, down from 12% a year earlier.

Persistent pay gap

The report also highlights a significant gender pay gap in Corporate India. The median remuneration of male executive directors is 74% higher than that of women, at ₹120 lakh compared with ₹69 lakh.

Among non-promoter executive directors, the gap is even wider, with male executives earning 142% more than their female counterparts. Male key management personnel earn 77% more than women, while male employees earn 34% more and male workers 86% more on average.

An exception was observed among independent directors, where women earn slightly more than men, with a median remuneration of ₹4.9 lakh compared with ₹4.8 lakh for men.

Sectoral trends

Sector-wise, women’s representation also varies widely. The diversified, healthcare and IT sectors have the highest share of women directors at 23%, while the energy sector has the lowest at 17%.

In terms of workforce participation, the IT sector leads, with women accounting for 34% of employees and 39% of workers, while industrials and utilities sectors show the lowest participation.

The findings indicated that while regulatory measures have improved board-level representation, women’s participation in leadership roles and across the workforce continues to lag, pointing to structural challenges in Corporate India.