Corporate India’s growth surge leaves women behind as hiring, leadership and pay gaps widen

Despite adding over a million jobs in recent years, women continue to remain underrepresented in corporate India, particularly in senior leadership roles. A new report by CFA Institute suggests that the country's corporate expansion has not translated into meaningful progress on gender inclusion, exposing structural barriers that continue to shape India's labour market.

The report, Mind the Gender Gap: Analysis of Women's Participation, Pay, and Other Measures in Indian Public Companies, offers one of the most comprehensive snapshots of gender dynamics in corporate India. Drawing on Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) disclosures from 300 listed companies, collectively accounting for more than 70 percent of India's market capitalisation, the report paints a sobering portrait: economic growth alone is proving insufficient to close entrenched gender divides.

Between FY 2022–23 and FY 2024–25, the companies analysed collectively added more than one million jobs, representing a workforce expansion of 13.3 percent. Yet women accounted for only about 18 percent of those new hires. The consequence was paradoxical. Even as companies grew, women's share of the workforce slipped marginally, from 19.6 percent to 19.4 percent.

The report attributes this stagnation not to temporary economic cycles but to deeper structural barriers within corporate hiring and promotion systems. The implication is stark: economic growth, often seen as a natural equaliser, may in fact reinforce inequality unless institutions intervene intentionally.

The glass ceiling remains firmly in place. If women's participation at entry and mid-levels is stagnating, the climb to senior leadership appears even more constrained. The report shows that women's representation on corporate boards has remained largely static, hovering between 18 and 19 percent over the past three financial years. While this level reflects compliance with regulatory mandates requiring at least one woman director on listed company boards, it signals little organic progress beyond the minimum threshold.

Among Key Managerial Personnel (KMP)—a category that includes top executives such as CEOs, CFOs, and company secretaries—the change has been modest. Female representation rose from 11.1 percent in FY 2022–23 to 12.1 percent in FY 2024–25. The report highlights the need for intentional interventions to address these structural barriers and promote greater gender inclusion in corporate India.