Overview

Since 2013, company boards in India have been legally required to have at least one female director. However, gender diversity in boardrooms across India remains below the global average, and a number of the women who do serve on boards were appointed largely because they are related to a founder or owner of a company. Since India is recognised as one of the world's fastest growing emerging economies, it is important to study in detail why gender diversity at board level remains so low. Is this a result of workplace bias, a pipeline issue, or due to other reasons? Gender Equity in the Boardroom: The Case of India offers just this sorely needed study. Drawing upon interviews with board members and executives of both public and private companies, as well as with aspiring female leaders who are currently at mid-management level, and supplementing this with the authors' own survey of the make-up of 305 Fortune India 500 companies, this book offers incisive insights into questions about board-level gender representation across industries. Offering both rigorous research and analysis as well as suggestions for practical policy changes, this book is essential reading for HRM and leadership scholars, and is also of keen interest to policymakers throughout the world.

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9781839827679

Table of Contents

Reviews

Appointing more women with the right personal qualities to private and public sector boards could strengthen corporate governance across India. This timely monograph examines the evidence, explores the barriers and suggests where action is needed. It draws upon interviews with board members, senior officials and others, and presents recommendations for policy makers and current and aspiring directors. -- Prof Colin Coulson-Thomas * and advisor to directors in over 40 countries * Commendation to Professors Kumar and Singh for taking on the challenge to unearth the nuances surrounding the under-representation of females in the Indian boardroom. This is a very useful piece of analysis, highly insightful with clear policy and practice implications. It also reveals the missed opportunities to enhance economic and social contributions due to poor gender balance in the boardroom. A must read for all interested in the topic. -- Prof Pawan Budhwar * British Journal of Management * Dr. Payal and Dr. Singh combine personal accounts from board members, senior officials, and aspiring corporate leaders with comparative data analyses of female board representation in India’s largest corporations. Their book should be on the reading list of scholars, executives, and policy makers seeking to understand the patterns and central themes around women’s accession to and experience on India’s corporate boards. -- Prof Corinne Post * College of Business, USA * Congratulations on this comprehensive, multi-methods study of gender equity on corporate boards of directors in India! Readers will be informed not only about the current representation of women on Indian corporate boards but will get a deeper look into the on-the-ground issues facilitating and constraining progress on board gender equity from interviews with board members as well as aspiring women leaders.  -- Prof Diana Bilimoria * Case Western Reserve University, USA * This monograph provides insightful analysis based on interviews of board members, senior executives and aspiring woman leaders, on what thwarts women from reaching top positions in organizations and having equitable representation in the board. My congratulations to the authors whose key recommendations will contribute to shaping mindsets and catalyzing action towards wider female representation in the boardroom. -- Ms Rekha Sethi * India *

This monograph provides insightful analysis based on interviews of board members, senior executives and aspiring woman leaders, on what thwarts women from reaching top positions in organizations and having equitable representation in the board. My congratulations to the authors whose key recommendations will contribute to shaping mindsets and catalyzing action towards wider female representation in the boardroom. -- Ms Rekha Sethi * India * Congratulations on this comprehensive, multi-methods study of gender equity on corporate boards of directors in India! Readers will be informed not only about the current representation of women on Indian corporate boards but will get a deeper look into the on-the-ground issues facilitating and constraining progress on board gender equity from interviews with board members as well as aspiring women leaders. -- Prof Diana Bilimoria * Case Western Reserve University, USA * Dr. Payal and Dr. Singh combine personal accounts from board members, senior officials, and aspiring corporate leaders with comparative data analyses of female board representation in India's largest corporations. Their book should be on the reading list of scholars, executives, and policy makers seeking to understand the patterns and central themes around women's accession to and experience on India's corporate boards. -- Prof Corinne Post * College of Business, USA * Commendation to Professors Kumar and Singh for taking on the challenge to unearth the nuances surrounding the under-representation of females in the Indian boardroom. This is a very useful piece of analysis, highly insightful with clear policy and practice implications. It also reveals the missed opportunities to enhance economic and social contributions due to poor gender balance in the boardroom. A must read for all interested in the topic. -- Prof Pawan Budhwar * British Journal of Management * Appointing more women with the right personal qualities to private and public sector boards could strengthen corporate governance across India. This timely monograph examines the evidence, explores the barriers and suggests where action is needed. It draws upon interviews with board members, senior officials and others, and presents recommendations for policy makers and current and aspiring directors. -- Prof Colin Coulson-Thomas * and advisor to directors in over 40 countries *

Author Information

Payal Kumar is Professor and Chair HR/OB and Associate Dean, International Relations at BML Munjal University, India. Ganesh Singh is Professor and Programme Director of the Foundation Course for AIMA-AMU’s PhD Programme in Business Administration at the All India Management Association’s Centre for Management Education (AIMA CME), India.

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