Gender representation on corporate boards of directors

Corporate boards perform better when they include the best people who come from a range of perspectives and backgrounds. The boardroom is where strategic decisions are made, governance applied and risk overseen. It is therefore imperative that boards are made up of competent high caliber individuals who together offer a mix of skills, experiences and backgrounds. Board appointments must always be made on merit, with the best qualified person getting the job. But, given the long record of women achieving the highest qualifications and leadership positions in many walks of life, the poor representation of women on boards, relative to their male counterparts, has raised questions about whether board recruitment is in practice based on skills, experience and performance. This paper reviews the issues relating to this imbalance. It is high time that corporate boards recognize that gender diversity is a business imperative and a critical element in sustaining successful enterprises. Increasing the number of women in leadership positions has to be a priority, not only because it is the right thing to do, but also because it is essential to building a high performance organization. Corporate India's leading companies by 1^st April 2015 were required to add women directors to the board, otherwise the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) would serve them with "very serious" consequences. Last year, SEBI imposed a quota of 1 female director for every listed firm's board. The deadline was extended, yet hundreds of firms, including several large state-owned companies, still fall short of the requirement.