Women are expanding across India Inc. and taking on a bigger role in corporate growth

Women holding top positions in financial services was the norm for several years, from banking to asset management, insurance, investment banking and private equity. Over the past two decades, the landscape has encompassed several other sectors, even as financial services remain an anchor point.

That is not a small achievement. It indicates a big shift in mindset and will, inevitably, lay the base for what is going to become a more widespread presence. Such has been the influx of women smarts in multiple industries that today, the bigger the problem, the more one sees women occupying pivotal positions. That would include conventional favourites such as IT or consumer, and new, traditionally male-dominated sectors such as manufacturing, automobiles, mining, among others.

This year, the ability to rough it out in the most difficult terrain has been a key takeaway. For instance, for Priya Agarwal Hebbar, Chairperson of Hindustan Zinc and Director of Vedanta, one of the tipping points in her career was the time spent in mines.

“I went down with the shift crews, stayed on site and had lunch with the teams. After the first day or so, they stopped being polite and were a lot more candid,” she says. Suddenly, the conversation veered around issues like shift patterns, heat at depth, and time away from families. “Those chats changed soon on how we think about our own employee welfare and our relationship with communities around where we operated,” says Hebbar.

Changing times

Let us go deep into the shift that has taken place and what led to it. Manisha Girotra, CEO of investment bank Moelis India, recalls the initial phase when global banks and the likes of ICICI Bank took a deep interest in recruiting women. “It started with consumer banking that called for high EQ followed later by corporate and investment banking,” she says. Plus, families saw financial services as a safe option for their women—typically, these were in large cities and well-protected. “In many ways, the sector became a natural magnet. The consumer sector simply because women had a better and a natural understanding,” points out Girotra. Over time, one saw more women move into technology, a big recruiter from engineering colleges.

The break into manufacturing has been a big story that has developed quietly, with large companies such as Ashok Leyland and Tata Motors leading the way. Girotra refers to Mahindra & Mahindra, where 17% of the leadership today are women from only 3% seven years ago.

To be sure, some of these sectors are incredibly hard to be in. One deals with regulation, technology disruption, huge impact of geopolitics, the constant need to raise capital – and these are only a handful of issues to contend with. In a world where today is as close to history as one can imagine, planning for tomorrow is onerous.

Understandably, this journey needs one to be surrounded by high-quality talent. For Hebbar, the biggest learnings have come from engineers and operational teams at her company’s mines and smelters. Terming them “valuable mentors”, she realised good strategy must withstand the realities of execution. That’s not all. “Composure under pressure is a discipline and it is people closest to an operation who often have the clearest understanding of its challenges,” she adds.

Then, there is the issue of dealing with expectations, making it a constant reality check. When Hebbar took charge of Hindustan Zinc, there were questions from people close to her. “My father wondered if I was thinking big enough, the engineers were asking whether I would earn it on the ground, and my mother wanted to know if my values would stay intact,” she describes in some detail.

In times to come, the challenge (and the opportunity) will come from technology and, more specifically, AI. Girotra thinks women will have a big role to play here. “It’s about them having high EQ,” she says. In an era where disruption is the norm rather than the exception, it comes down to leading the team through difficult times. “A lot of empathy is needed in the corner office and boardrooms. Women are more confident and clearly the next era of AI will belong to them since they are very good at carrying a team,” she thinks.

Making things comfortable

With the advent of technology, especially post Covid-19, work can easily be moved around regardless of location. Girotra says the concept of work from home (WFH) and flexi-hours are not just on paper.

Sonal Agrawal, Managing Partner, Accord India sees the more obvious presence of women across sectors as the consequence of a maturing talent pipeline, changing business models and a gradual shift in how India companies identify future leaders.

“Financial services and technology were among the earlier sectors to produce highly visible professional leaders since they offered relatively structured careers, measurable performance criteria, exposure to governance and risk apart from leadership opportunities across large organisations,” she says.

The reasons for that change are quite complex, and in several ways, it reflects a changing India Inc. One cannot ignore the wealth of experience and how that’s playing out. The women who entered the workforce in the 1990s and 2000s now have 20-30 years on the job. “That comes with exposure to operations, transformation, international markets, financial accountability and enterprise-wide decision-making,” points out Agrawal.

She refers to structured programs by companies like Unilever, which has gone on to produce a slew of women CEOs in the consumer sector. As organisations evolve, the role of a CEO, too, has expanded. In line with a more dynamic external environment, that individual must understand and navigate disruption, pick up the nuances of changing consumer behaviour, manage multiple stakeholder relationships and get the organisation ready for the next phase of growth. Agrawal views this as a way to open CEO pathways from technology, consumer businesses, professional services and other functions. “This will sit alongside traditional finance, sales and manufacturing routes.”

One can pin down a part of it to the growth in consumer-facing businesses to cover digital-first companies, healthcare or the way services has just taken off. “It has gone on to create leadership opportunities,” she says.

That said, organisations have a larger responsibility. “It is critical for them to break the boys club when it comes to mindset on women,” thinks Girotra. That includes getting married or taking time out for maternity leave. “All this makes it difficult for women to bring their best to the work spot,” she emphasises. A potential fallout of all this is not having enough women at the mid-level. “They give up because of pressures at work and home, and that’s a real loss.”

That makes it incumbent on organisations to do a few things really well. “Flexible work arrangements, access to childcare support, and a more equitable sharing of caregiving responsibilities can influence how talented women remain in the workforce long enough to reach senior leadership,” says Agrawal.

To her, succession planning is a process that must become more intentional.

By all counts, there is no dearth of talent.

@krishnagopalan