More women, more profit: So why is corporate India still male at the top?

Time of India

a day ago

Barsha Nag Bhowmick has an opinion on anything and everything. A scribe for more than two decades, she writes on various topics including art, literature, relationships, lifestyle and anything that arouses her interest from time to time. When not into writing, she paints. Follow @barshanag on Twitter LESS ... MORE
If numbers are the most convincing argument in a boardroom, then Indian companies have no excuse left. A new report by HR advisory firm Marching Sheep shows that businesses with more women in leadership outperform their peers by up to 50% in profit after tax (PAT). But here's the catch: over 63% of organisations still have zero women in key managerial positions.
The contradiction is sharp, even predictable. Inclusion works, but remains absent.
The Marching Sheep Inclusion Index 2025, based on data from 840 listed companies across 30 sectors, including manufacturing, steel, BFSI, pharma, FMCG, infrastructure and IT, offers one of the most detailed mappings of gender representation across India Inc. It finds that gender-balanced leadership teams report 20–50% higher PAT, depending on the industry. Yet in most sectors, women remain outnumbered and sidelined at the top.
In fact, women account for only 22% of the total workforce in corporate India, lower than the 28% female workforce participation reported in the Periodic Urban Labour Force Survey 2023-24.
'We don't just need more women in the room; we need them at the table, influencing decisions and shaping strategy,' says Sonica Aron, Founder & Managing Partner at Marching Sheep. 'True inclusion isn't about counting numbers. It's about redistributing power. And that shift is still painfully absent.'
The hourglass effect
One of the most striking patterns the report reveals is the growing 'hourglass' trend. Thanks to campus hiring and entry-level recruitment, gender ratios are somewhat healthier at the bottom of the pyramid. Statutory mandates have also ensured token representation on boards.
But in the middle, where strategy is shaped, promotions decided, and pipelines built, women vanish.
'The pressures of caregiving, lack of mentorship, and unconscious bias all converge there,' says a senior HR advisor at a global FMCG firm. 'What makes it worse is that no one really owns the pipeline. It's not just an HR issue, it's a leadership one.'
Tokenism vs transformation
Diversity, in many companies, is still treated as a compliance checkbox. A woman on the board, a Women's Day panel, or an annual mentorship programme. But new data from Marching Sheep reinforces what global studies have shown for years: inclusion isn't just optics. It directly correlates with business performance.
A 2025 McKinsey study places India among the lowest in the G20 for women in senior business roles. It found women hold only 24% of managerial roles, 17% of C‑suite positions, and 20% of board seats in India.
The reasons are well known: broken leadership pipelines, structural bias, motherhood penalties, and the persistent stereotype of what a leader 'should' look like.
'The business case is closed,' says Aron. 'The call to action is urgent.'
What needs to change
To its credit, the Marching Sheep report goes beyond diagnosis. It offers a sector-wise roadmap, from equitable hiring to mid-career support, inclusive succession planning, and targeted leadership development. Inclusion, it argues, must go beyond visibility. It must translate into influence, authority, and accountability.
It also urges women professionals to hold their workplaces to higher standards, not just for being present, but for being heard and taken seriously where it matters most.
Says Kanishka Mallick, Vice President–HR, Clix Capital, 'Women aren't underrepresented due to lack of talent. They now make up almost half of all graduates in India. But once they enter the workforce, things start to shift. Cultural expectations, outdated systems, and quiet biases still get in the way of real progress.'
Adds Mallick, 'Low recruitment, high attrition, and limited promotions stem from deep-rooted expectations around caregiving and old-school leadership mindsets. It has taken generations to hold women back. Change is slow, but I believe it's happening. I've seen women around me rise through challenges. My wife, for instance… she works full-time and still takes care of the home. It's not easy, but she does it. Equal credit goes to women who run households, they are the backbone of many lives.'
If it works, why resist it?
Corporate India finds itself at a crucial crossroads. The evidence is in. The numbers are clear. The payoff is real.
A senior corporate leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, observes, 'At every level, I find women more focused and accountable. If you assign a task to a woman, she owns it. You rarely need to follow up. With their male counterparts, there are often a thousand excuses and a thousand coffee breaks.'
She then adds with a smile, 'Of course, I don't mean all men lack accountability, but the difference in consistency is hard to miss.'
The numbers say it all: more women at the top means better results. So why does it still feel like we are moving in circles? How much more proof do we need?
Maybe the real question is: why do we need a report at all to value inclusion?
Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer
Views expressed above are the author's own.