| Pub. Date | : Jan, 2019 |
|---|---|
| Product Name | : The IUP Journal of Corporate Governance |
| Product Type | : Article |
| Product Code | : IJCG21901 |
| Author Name | : Kamal Kishore |
| Availability | : YES |
| Subject/Domain | : Management |
| Download Format | : PDF Format |
| No. of Pages | : 12 |
Gender diversity on board of directors of companies has been receiving critical attention all over the world. Many jurisdictions have introduced measures aimed at improving women representation in corporate high offices. The Indian government initiated its first step towards gender diversity on corporate boards by promulgating a provision in the new Companies Act, 2013, which enjoined upon companies to include at least one woman on their boards. The law was made applicable to all listed companies as also to non-listed public companies having paid up share capital of 100 cr (one billion) or a turnover of 300 cr (three billion). The legislative measure and its strict enforcement by regulators led to a virtual scramble to include women members on their boards. Indian banking sector, which is dominated by government-owned public sector banks and has significant presence by new private sector banks, responded to new norm regarding women directors in a manner that reflected mere tokenism. The Government of India which took a bold step to usher in an era of better gender ratio on company boards is expected to exhibit a role model act in its own banking entities but it has not done so. The paper analyzes women representation on bank boards in India.
Gender diversity on boards of companies has been receiving attention for considerable time all over the world. Many countries either enacted mandatory legislative provisions including quota for women directors to promote greater gender representation on corporate boards or effectuated other measures like voluntary guidelines, moral suasions, disclosures of gender ratios, etc. The Indian Parliament, after a lot of deliberations and consultations, enacted a new law dealing with companies (Companies Act, 2013), which inter alia made a significant provision in the direction of compulsory women seats in the board rooms of specified companies to begin with.