Uptick in Million-Dollar Women CXOs in India: EMA Partners

By: Women Entrepreneurs Review Team | Monday, 1 June 2026

Indian corporate companies are outperforming multinationals in terms of compensating their women leaders. The trend reflects an increasing number of female CEOs who are receiving more than one million dollars in paychecks each year.

As per information released by EMA Partners (global executive search firm) shared exclusively with TOI, nine women CXOs are earning above one million dollars a year, and seven women did the same two years back. It is worth noticing that most of them are related to companies owned by Indians, primarily in pharma and consumer-oriented segments.

Gopinadhan KG, senior partner - India & Singapore, EMA Partners, said, "The uptick in the number of million-dollar women CXOs in India reflects a structural shift where diversity is being embedded as a business imperative rather than a compliance metric, particularly among the progressive Indian and European MNCs. This shift is increasingly being driven by professional executives, unlike earlier years when such compensation was largely promoter-led; particularly in sectors like financial services and pharma/life sciences that have historically fostered stronger female leadership pipelines in comparison to sectors such as industrial, energy & infrastructure."

Industry experts note that the development underscores a significant transformation in corporate strategy, with the Indian companies place increasing importance on specialized leadership talent, managerial proficiency, and merit-driven succession at the top.

Key Highlights:

• Women CXOs rise in the $1M club as India Inc strengthens diversity at the top
• Indian firms outpace MNCs in rewarding women leaders with top compensation
• Pharma and consumer sectors lead the rise of million-dollar women executives

In FY25, Nilima Prasad Divi, promoter of Divi’s Labs, emerged as the highest-paid woman executive, followed by Hina Nagarajan, Managing Director and CEO of United Spirits, and Lupin CEO Vinita Gupta. Among all corporate leaders, PB Fintech co-founder, chairman and group CEO Yashish Dahiya topped the compensation charts with earnings of ₹641 crore, primarily driven by exercised ESOPs.

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, a pioneering Indian billionaire entrepreneur and the founder of Biocon Limited, said that the trend reflects the evolution of Indian enterprises into global contenders. According to her, as these organizations expand their international footprints, they are increasingly competing for leadership talent through globally benchmarked packages. 

"Many Indian firms are more performance-driven than MNC subsidiaries when it comes to recognising women leaders. Also, a higher compensation reflects a stronger leadership pipeline, with more women moving into P&L, digital and strategic leadership roles. But the trend is still concentrated among larger companies and select sectors. Women leaders still have to fight for their positions,"Kiran added.

Drawing inferences about the industry trends, Kiran highlighted that financial services and consumer businesses have historically created robust pathways to leadership, with Indian banking once serving a notable example of women-led institutions offering of the highest executive pay packages.