Tracing the First Steps towards the Gradual & Imminent Rise of Women in Finance

By: Rachita Sharma, Special Editor | Monday, 9 May 2022

Women, who form roughly half of the world's population, are still a minority in different facets of the corporate world and the workforce. While the jury is no longer out on the advantages of having a gender balanced, inclusive and diverse workforce, the reality on the ground remains far from a 50:50 gender ratio in the corporate realm. It also seems banal to reiterate that women's representation in top leadership and C level suite is even lower than their participation in the work force.

Case in point is the participation of women in finance sector. According to Deloitte's fifth installment of Within reach, although several firms implemented various diversity and inclusion programs, yet the percentage of women in leadership roles saw meagre growth from 22 to 24 percent in 2021. The report however projected that their numbers would reach 28 percent by 2030. According to the report, there was a gap of nine percent between women in senior leadership roles and in the C-suite.

However, it is interesting to note that India has fared better than its global counterparts in terms of women's representation in the C-suite. A Grand Thornton study concluded that India was in the third spot in terms of representation of women in management roles. Speaking specifically about the role of CFOs, as compared to the global average of 36 percent of women CFOs, Indian firms had 41 percent of females leading the role of a CFO.

In the past few years, the Indian financial services sector has taken giant strides in the direction of a creating a gender-balanced workforce. However, we have a long way to go. In order to get more women to foray into the financial sector, we need inspirational role models who have carved a niche for themselves in the world of finance.

The current edition of Women Entrepreneur India magazine brings to a list of such trailblazing women who today are Bonafide names in the world of Indian banking and insurance. Read on to known about their inspirational professional journeys.

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