Representation of Women on Boards of IT Companies: An Indian Story

The new Companies Act introduced in India in August, 2013 incorporated a mandatory provision for appointing at least one woman director on the board of directors of listed and certain other companies. The companies were required to comply with the law by 31st March, 2015. The change in law led to a virtual scramble for identification of woman to be appointed as directors on boards of listed companies. The new norm was aimed to improve gender diversity on Indian corporate boards. Different countries have adopted varied methods for better representation of women on corporate high offices, viz. quota system, comply or explain incentive and voluntary action etc. Information Technology sector in India is a high growth sector and is one that is considered highly professionalized also. How the companies in this sector have responded to gender diversity norm propagated through the new law? The paper examines this aspect by analyzing the board composition of a sample of large Indian IT companies.