Download Here—Fortune India-SPJIMR Whitepaper On 'Enhancing Women Leadership In India Inc.'
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India Inc. has examples galore of companies and boards shying away from hiring women leaders. Will the woman leader be willing to relocate or travel? Will she be able to balance her job along with her caregiving responsibilities? Will she be committed to the role? Is it fair to give women P&L roles? Even more interestingly, often the male seniors/colleagues take a negative decision on behalf of the female colleague even without asking her preference: “She won’t leave this city” or “She won’t be interested in this promotion”. These are some of the biases deeply ingrained in the minds of the male-dominated decision-makers of corporate India. No wonder barely 1.6% of the Fortune 500 companies in India have women MDs and CEOs. In The Next 500, a ranking of emerging companies, the number is higher at 5%. Overall, for the Fortune 1000 India companies, only 3.2% are led by women MD/CEOs.
The Fortune India-SPJIMR study on ‘Enhancing Women Leadership In India Inc.’ brings to the fore not just the challenges of having a fair representation of women leaders, but also suggests ACTIONABLE SOLUTIONS to the problem after extensive discussions with leaders of corporate India as well as potential women leaders.
August 2025
As India continues to be the world’s fastest-growing major economy, Fortune India presents its special issue on the nation’s Top 100 Billionaires. Curated in partnership with Waterfield Advisors, this year’s list reflects a slight decline in the number of dollar billionaires—from 185 to 182—even as the entry threshold for the Top 100 rose to ₹24,283 crore, up from ₹22,739 crore last year. From stalwarts like Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani, and the Mistry family, who continue to lead the list, to major gainers such as Sunil Mittal and Kumar Mangalam Birla, the issue goes beyond the numbers to explore the resilience, ambition, and strategic foresight that define India’s wealth creators. Read their compelling stories in the latest issue of Fortune India. On stands now.
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