More Than Three-Quarters of Corporate Boards Have Less Than 25% Female Representation: Flipcarbon's Women in Leadership Report

By: WE Staff | Friday, 8 September 2023

Flipcarbon, a full stack business consulting firm today announced the release of its maiden report on "Women in Leadership - Challenges, Opportunities, and Best Practices. "The in-depth report talks about women’s participation in the workplace, the role of women in building a sustainable future and shares best practices into building a diverse workplace. The report also highlights the gender inequality in leadership roles across businesses in the country.

Key Data Points from the Report:

Increasing Female Enrolment in Higher Education:

• In FY 2020, 40 million students were enrolled in higher education in India. This is expected to rise to 92 million by FY 2035.
• Female enrolment in engineering colleges, which was 9% in 2017, increased to 20% in 2021.
• Female students now make up 58% of total undergraduate enrolment in fall of 2021.

Women's Representation in Leadership:

• More than three-quarters of corporate boards have less than 25% female representation.
• Across most elements explored, women continue to have less than 50%, if not abysmally insignificant opportunity to participate and prove themselves.
• Only 11% organizations have more than 50% female representation across all levels of management.

Organisational Initiatives:

• While organisations are making strides, only 65% believe there are equal opportunities for both genders among their employees. 
• Initiatives such as flexible working arrangements, leadership mentoring programs, and gender-neutral recruitment are crucial for promoting diversity.
• Across most organizations maternity leave is still largely only legally compliant and not path breaking. Less than 15% policies are better than the law.
• Almost 50% organizations don’t have credible practices to reduce gender pay gap or reduce glass ceiling.
• Almost 40% women make career compromises or must work harder than normal to succeed.
• Almost 25% women face pregnancy or motherhood discrimination.
• About a third of all women feel the need to exhibit overtly masculine traits to succeed at work.

Alok Ranjan, CEO of Flipcarbon, stated, "This is India’s century, and as we continue to showcase strength and leadership in areas such as technology and innovation, we also need to strengthen our focus on gender equality. We have seen a surge in female enrolment in higher education - from 9% to 20% in engineering colleges within just 2017 to 2021. Women now comprise 58% of undergraduate enrolment. Yet, when it comes to leadership roles in corporations, the numbers tell a different story. Globally, less than 20% of C-suite positions are held by women, and most corporate boards still lack and do very little to increase female representation. There is a need to demand transparency in hiring and promotion processes. Hold leaders accountable for achieving gender balance in leadership teams - Diversity of thought is our greatest asset, which needs to be leveraged”
Alok further added, “We need to listen and acknowledge that there is a problem, we need to actively work towards creating an ecosystem of inclusivity and build programs and opportunities that enable us to bridge the gap. We need to work on grassroot level changes.”

While organisations are seeing progress, only 65% believe there are equal opportunities for both genders among their employees. To overcome the barriers that persist, the report outlines several key initiatives such as including equal pay, flexible work arrangements, and mentorship programs.

The Women In Leadership report is based on a comprehensive survey of 68% female, 30% male, and 2% others respondents. The respondents represented diverse management levels, including 27% Senior Management, 29% Middle Management, and 36% Junior Management.