Cover Story

Women in Boardrooms Take Centre Stage
Despite the mandatory requirement for women directors, India Inc has a long way to go to fill the gender gap in decision-making roles.

2025-12-21

India needs to unlock the hidden potential of millions of women to become a global economic powerhouse by 2047

The Labour Codes will not only unlock the untapped potential of the female workforce but also empower women through increased participation in the economy.

Understanding Egg Freezing by Metropolis Healthcare's Ameera Shah

For many, egg freezing is not about delaying motherhood; it is about keeping a door open.

Best Advice

Be disciplined with savings: HDFC Life MD & CEO Vibha Padalkar's advice to women

"Women should be disciplined with their savings," says HDFC Life's Vibha Padalkar.

Deep Dive

Clothes Maketh A Woman? Appearance Expectations At Workplace

Appearance expectations don't always show up as written dress codes or grooming rules. More often, they seep into culture in quiet but powerful ways.

Ambition vs Biology: How elective egg freezing has gradually transformed into a planned step

Elective egg freezing, once largely a medical necessity, has gradually transformed into a planned step in long-term career and life strategy.

The Male Gaze at Work

Can India Inc. truly progress if the male gaze continues to shape women's everyday reality at work?

Issues Women Face At Work: The Silent Load That Career Women Experience

Women are climbing the career ladder, but invisible burdens and structural barriers are still weighing them down.

Fastest-Growing Companies: The Art of Agility in Corporate Universe Led By Women

While the broader corporate universe saw a modest uptick in earnings, the handful of women leaders in India Inc delivered a striking counter-narrative in FY25.

Diversifying Investments: Financial Products of Today's Women

While gold and FDs were once the default option, today's women are exploring MFs, equities, and other financial products.

Women are rising in rank, but pay gaps and underrepresentation at the top remain

Women are rising in rank, but pay gaps and underrepresentation at the top keep true parity still out of reach.

BT MPW 2025 Super Achievers: Celebrating women who lead, build and transform

Exceptional women leading unlisted enterprises, emerging businesses, and global firms, have been honoured as Super Achievers in this year's BT MPW.

Women in Start-ups: How Women Founders are Reshaping India’s Start-Up Landscape

Women founders are reshaping India's start-up landscape, breaking biases, defying funding gaps, and proving that entrepreneurship is no longer a space they're expected to enter quietly or temporarily.

Women in Stock Markets: Mastering Markets: Women Trailblazers of Investment Industry in India

The investment industry in India has its own set of women trailblazers, managing thousands of crores and generating immense wealth for investors.

Women in BFSI: The Power Ledger in BFSI

In the past few decades, women have quietly risen across India's banking, financial services, and insurance sector. Here women's leadership isn't the exception, it's the legacy.

Women in Healthcare: In the Pink of Health: Can strong participation open doors to wider leadership?

Women are a major force in the healthcare sector. Can this strong participation open the doors to wider leadership?

Aditya Birla Capital’s Vishakha Mulye: The Financial Alchemist

Vishakha Mulye is helping Aditya Birla Capital get ready for the AI age.

For Lupin’s Vinita Gupta leadership is all about consistency, trust and belief in her team

The path to the top is rarely smooth, but Lupin's Vinita Gupta says women leaders must lead with conviction and a global mindset

Sindhu Gangadharan’s agile leadership is driving SAP Labs India’s big AI push

As SAP Labs India becomes central to the firm's global AI engine, Sindhu Gangadharan leads with agility, purpose, and a focus on transforming India into a creator of deep tech.

How Shveta Arya is amping up Cummins India’s ‘cool quotient’

Arya shows what it takes to succeed in the world of manufacturing, a traditionally male-dominated field.

BT MPW 2025: Indian Women Officials Lead in Economic Policymaking; Check out the full list of Women in Governance winners

Breaking the so-called perceptions and global trends, India not only has a woman Finance Minister but a crop of female officials leading economic policymaking.

SBI Card's Salila Pande is proving why she really is a banker with a vision

Salila Pande, MD and CEO of SBI Card, the largest pure-play credit card company in the country, believes the segment provides a huge growth opportunity.

For Allianz Services' Ritu Gangrade Arora, her current stint offers her the biggest canvas yet

For Allianz Services' Ritu Gangrade Arora, her current stint offers her the biggest canvas yet.

At HUL, CEO & MD Priya Nair is bringing in global thinking, with an Indian touch

Priya Nair, the first woman CEO of HUL, doesn't believe in just numbers. Gaining on-the-ground insights is her priority.

Powering Up: Under Parminder Chopra’s able leadership, PFC has grown and grown

Under Parminder Chopra's able leadership, PFC has achieved great success, propelling her to the top of the BT MPW list.

How Nyrika Holkar is creating a smarter, more trusted Godrej Enterprises Group

Nyrika Holkar is taking forward the Godrej legacy by using technology to deepen customer connect.

Nandita Sinha: How Myntra CEO Nandita Sinha is charting a style reset

Under Nandita Sinha, Myntra has transformed into a profitable, trend-first fashion destination built on speed, Gen Z focus, and tech-led disruption.

Madhurima Singh believes in balancing progress with principles

Madhurima Singh's rise to the top has been underpinned by an insatiable appetite for learning, pursuit of excellence.

How Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman heralded the winds of change in the Indian economy

Breaking the so-called perceptions and global trends, India not only has a woman Finance Minister but a crop of female officials leading economic policymaking.

Corporate

Amtek Auto: The inside story of how the auto parts maker got involved in the alleged fraud

The inside story of how the auto parts maker got involved in the alleged fraud and landed in RBI's Dirty Dozen list.

Interview

“My advice for women: Stay the course”, says Roshni Nadar Malhotra, Chairperson, HCLTech

Roshni Nadar Malhotra, Chairperson, HCLTech, on leadership, ensuring gender diversity and lessons from her journey to the top.

Russian President Vladimir Putin: Our energy cooperation with India remains unaffected

Russian President Vladimir Putin on India-Russia relations, the new world order and more.

Editor's Note

BT Most Power Women in Business: Profit shows power, performance

To build the Most Powerful Women in Business 2025 list, the BT Research team relied on a universe of 5,000 listed firms. From this, we selected companies that reported a consolidated profit after tax of at least Rs 100 crore in FY25.