According to a recent study, businesses with the greatest diversity rankings have a distinct financial advantage. Inclusive businesses made almost 50 per cent more profit after taxes (PAT) than their less diverse counterparts. The study, conducted by the HR advisory firm ‘Marching Sheep Inclusion Index 2025’, found that approximately eight out of 10 sectors have shown a strong correlation between the presence of women in businesses and increased profitability. The data came from 840 publicly traded businesses in 30 different industries, such as IT, manufacturing, steel, BFSI, pharmaceuticals, FMCG, and infrastructure.
However, women continue to be notably under-represented at the top, despite inclusion becoming a corporate buzzword. According to the report, there were no women in important managerial roles in more than 63.45 per cent of businesses. In addition, women make up only 22 per cent of India Inc.'s workforce, which is six per cent less than the 28 per cent recorded in the Periodic Urban Labour Force Survey 2023–2024. The research emphasises that more women must not only be present in the room, but also be able to shape strategy and make decisions.
According to the 2010 Catalyst India Benchmarking report, only 17 per cent of Indian businesses provided women with targeted leadership development programs. A survey conducted by the Women in Leadership (WILL) Forum, highlighted that Indian companies have a significantly lower presence of women in top positions when compared to global corporations. Women made up 21 per cent of the workforce at Indian banks like Axis Bank. During the same time period, out of 5,500 employees, or 43 per cent of American Express's workforce in India were women. According to the report, 84 per cent of multinational corporations' Indian subsidiaries have implemented a women's advancement plan, whereas only 37 per cent of businesses with their headquarters in India have done so.
India appears to still have a long way to go when it comes to calibrating the proportion of women in important leadership positions. Although many businesses are working to increase the number of women in their workforce, this may not be sufficient. Redistributing power is more important to true inclusion than simply tallying numbers. Accountability, authority, and accessibility are key components of inclusion.