India Inc, here's a case for making room for women

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Key Points

Thanks to the requirement to have one woman director, 98% companies listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) have a female board member compared with 35% at the end of FY14, before the mandate came into effect in 2015..

The number of women directors in NSE-listed companies has also increased to 3,611 from 638 at the end of FY14, according to data from Prime Database..

True, the quota has compelled Indian companies to provide a proverbial seat at the table to women, something that would have taken much longer organically...

In India, 267 companies or 12% of those listed have three or more women directors on their boards..

Plus, at least one of the senior board positions chairperson, CEO, CFO or senior independent director should be occupied by a woman.. As India Inc.s one woman director mandate completes a decade, its probably time to shift to some form of proportional representation in line with the global trend..

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