The Gender Balance Imperative in Indian Boardrooms: Progress, Persistence, and the Path Forward

CXO India Insights tracked board gender composition across the NSE 500 index over a five-year period ending December 2025. The headline number has improved: the proportion of board seats held by women has risen from 15.8% to 21.3% over this period, driven largely by SEBI's mandatory requirement for at least one woman director on listed company boards. However, a deeper analysis of the data reveals a more complicated picture. The concentration problem is significant. A relatively small pool of women directors holds a disproportionate share of board seats across the index. Our analysis found that 28% of women directors in the NSE 500 hold seats on three or more boards — a rate of concentration that is roughly double that of their male counterparts. This suggests that boards are drawing on a narrow talent pool rather than genuinely broadening the pipeline of women in governance. The mandated seat has been filled; the structural change in how boards identify and develop governance talent has been slower. The committee chair data is more sobering still. Women chair audit, nomination and remuneration, or stakeholder relationship committees at rates well below their representation as board members. The most demanding governance roles — those that require the deepest engagement with management, the greatest willingness to ask uncomfortable questions, and the most extensive time commitment — remain disproportionately held by men. This gap between representation and influence is not unique to India, but the pace at which India is closing it remains too slow for a corporate governance environment that aspires to global standards.