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Women Leaders Demand 33% Board Representation, Slam "Compliance Exercise" Quota
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CNBC TV18•30-09-2026, 22:07
Women Leaders Demand 33% Board Representation, Slam "Compliance Exercise" Quota
- •Business leaders at CNBC-TV18's Future Female Forward townhall advocate for 33% women's representation on corporate boards, arguing the current one-woman director mandate is insufficient.
- •Manisha Girotra, CEO of Moelis India, and Zia Mody, Co-Founder of AZB & Partners, assert that a single woman director does not significantly alter boardroom dynamics and call for a higher quota.
- •Priya Kashyap, COO of Hero FinCorp, highlights the male-dominated corporate environment and the positive impact of increased female representation on mentorship and support within organizations.
- •Panelists discuss the "leaky pipeline" phenomenon, where women's representation declines from entry-level to senior leadership, citing home responsibilities and workplace structures.
- •Solutions proposed include widening the pool of female candidates, flexible working, returnship programs, mentoring, and addressing mindsets to achieve true gender parity in leadership roles.
Key Questions Answered
Business leaders at the CNBC-TV18 Future Female Forward townhall are calling for women to account for 33% of board representation in India's corporate boardrooms.
Panellists argued that the existing requirement for at least one woman independent director risks becoming merely a compliance exercise and a single woman does not effectively change boardroom decision-making dynamics.
Panellists noted that home responsibilities and workplace structures contribute to a leaky pipeline where women starting at entry-level positions decline in numbers as their careers progress.
