Are women quota’s efficient?
While this provision clearly seem to be an efficient step towards achieving gender equality, the compliance by companies reveals otherwise. The National Stock Exchange (NSE) reported that out of 1,723 listed companies, 1,667 companies had met the mandate of one woman director on board. But out of this pool, women directors in 425 companies belonged to the promoter group or family. The women directors who are being appointed to the board, are to merely meet the mandate and do not fulfill the purpose of the legislation in its spirit. That dilutes the very purpose of giving more representation to women, and to assist break the glass ceiling that has long held them back from reaching leadership roles. Women empowerment is not something where a woman can merely play a simple role in a corporate but should be a part of the higher level of the decision making process.