Parliamentary Panel Reviews Dearth of Women in Leadership in Central Public Sector Enterprises

By: WE staff | Tuesday, 1 April 2025

• PESB is a high-powered institution constituted for managerial policies among the Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs)
• It advises the government on top management-level appointments in CPSEs

A parliamentary panel has taken notice of the dearth of representation of women in leadership roles within Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) and has proposed concrete measures that would remove barriers from their career advancement.

In making its pronouncement, the panel was evaluating the functioning of the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB), a high-powered body set up to lay down effective managerial policies for Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) and to advise governments on appointments on top management.

The nomenclature “panel’s comments “pertains to the review of PESB, a very powerful body in drafting good managerial policies for CPSEs, with advice to the government on appointments to top management.  

The Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice, laid before Parliament on 27 March by its 145th report, have examined the Demands for Grants (2025-26) regarding the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). They reiterated concerns regarding the gross gender imbalance in CPSE, highlighting that women account for merely 7 percent of the available pool of talent and hold only 7 percent of board members' positions. 

According to it, promoting gender equality for establishing an inclusive and accountable public administration is in complete harmony with the 'Nari Shakti'-policy enunciated by the government. Therefore, the panel laid an urgent recommendation before the DoPT, the premier agency in personnel management, to conduct an in-depth study with respect to the reasons for women's low representation in leadership and take definite actions to overcome the barriers to their career advancement.