While female KMPs in the financial services sector were all professional leaders, in pharma, they were promoters, according to data from FY23 collated for ET by executive search firm EMA Partners India.
However, Indian companies continue to struggle to have a better gender balance when it comes to KMPs. According to the Companies Act, KMPs are the CEOs or managing directors, chief financial officers, company secretaries and wholetime directors.
The top 200 BSE-listed companies had a total of 447 KMPs in FY2023. Among them, 28 (6.26%) were women: 12 professionals and 16 promoters. The total count of female KMPs earning a million dollars or more in annual compensation was seven, the data revealed.
Pharmaceuticals had half a dozen women in KMP roles, one more than in financial services. The hospitals/medical segment came in next, with four female KMPs.
Getting More KMPs: The Road mapExplaining the numbers, K Sudarshan, managing director-India and regional chair-Asia at EMA Partners said: “The numbers reflect a broader trend on representation of women in upper layers of management across sectors. However, most boards are seized of the matter and there is a sense of urgency visible today to encourage diversity across. It will call for concerted efforts from all stakeholders over the next two decades for the balance to be restored.”For example, in certain sectors like manufacturing, there is a need to address the issue right at the grassroots from the supply side. In sectors such as technology and software services, it is more about channelling resources appropriately to ensure representation at the top.
