Stories
India's Leaky Pipeline: Why Women Drop Out Before Leadership Despite Workforce Entry
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CNBC TV18•30-09-2026, 22:39
India's Leaky Pipeline: Why Women Drop Out Before Leadership Despite Workforce Entry
- •More women are entering India's workforce, but representation at senior leadership levels remains low, a phenomenon dubbed the ‘leaky pipeline’.
- •Factors contributing to this include patriarchal mindsets, home priorities, demanding career structures leading to career breaks, and workplace assumptions that favor men for certain roles.
- •While companies implement policies like flexible working and returnships, their effectiveness depends on how managers and colleagues utilize them, highlighting the need for a mindset shift.
- •Increased female representation in leadership can change boardroom dynamics, foster mentorship, and influence decision-making, extending beyond corporate offices to sectors like agriculture.
- •Addressing the pipeline problem requires companies to redesign jobs, re-evaluate how career breaks are treated, and ensure fair opportunities for women to progress to leadership roles.
Key Questions Answered
Experts point to home priorities, a patriarchal mindset, demanding career structures like 24/7 courtroom availability, career breaks, and workplace assumptions as key factors causing women to drop out before reaching leadership roles.
Policies like flexible working and returnships are often not enough if external family expectations remain unchanged, or if managers and colleagues fail to properly implement them.
Having multiple women in leadership alters how decisions are discussed, creates vital support systems and mentorship, and helps provide role models for women coming up through the organization.
