Indian Boards Embrace Gender Diversity, But Only on Paper

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Livemint – Indian Boards Embrace Gender Diversity, But Only on Paper

Gender diversity in India’s boardrooms remains a distant reality, despite a recent rush to comply – on paper at least – with new gender diversity norms laid down by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). According to an article published by livemint, several Indian firms have opted for the easy route to compliance by appointing women from their immediate or extended family as directors. While this does not contravene the Sebi norms, “It doesn’t help grow the [female talent] pool”, notes Egon Zehnder consultant Pallavi Kathuria. In her experience, most firms are leveraging their own networks to meet the legal requirement and there are very few “unique appointments”, meaning that Indian female directors are serving on multiple boards. Despite the box-ticking approach adopted to date, experts hope that India Inc’s attitude to gender diversity in the boardroom will evolve in the future.

Full story: Shally Seth Mohile: Firms rush to fill boardroom slots for women in livemint (8 March 2015).