The representation of women on the boards of the top 100 companies in India has improved in the last five years, said a survey released on Monday.
The findings were based on the annual reports and website disclosures of Nifty 100 companies and revealed in the 4th Annual Corporate Governance Survey by Excellence Enablers Private Limited.
In the year ending March 31, 2023, the percentage of women among the total directors in the top 100 companies was the highest since 2018-2019 — rising to 19 per cent from 15 per cent earlier.
According to Section 149(1) of the Companies Act, 2013, every listed company is mandated to have at least one woman director.
It is also mandatory for every public company having a paid-up share capital of Rs 100 crore or more and for companies with a turnover of Rs 300 crore or more.
Also, according to Regulation 17 (1)(a) of the Securities and Exchange Board’s Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirement, 2015, the Board of Directors shall have an optimum combination of executive and non-executive directors with at least one woman director and not less than 50 per cent of the board shall comprise non-executive directors.
The survey added that as of March 31, 2023, the percentage of independent woman directors was the highest in the previous five years. At the end of FY23, 26 per cent of companies met the criterion as compared to 19 per cent at the end of FY19.
Moreover, the number of companies with female managing directors doubled to six in FY23 as from three in March 2021.
The report showed there has been a decline in the number of companies without an independent woman director.
As of March 31, 2023, there were only two such companies as compared to six in March 2020 and 12 in March 2021.
The number of companies with women in key management positions jumped to 27 in 2023 from 19 in 2021.
The only outlier in the data was the number of companies with women chairs.
Their number rose from five as of March 31, 2021, to seven on March 31, 2022, but fell to four in 2023.
“While the presence of a woman independent director on Boards has been mandated, there is no similar provision for women executives graduating to board positions.
“This can happen only if a sufficient number of competent women are identified and are provided appropriate career progression in the organisation,” the report said.
“It is equally important to focus on more women occupying positions of chair/MD, as well as being on a member of Board committees, and chairing some of them,” it added.
