Gender Equality, Inclusivity and Corporate Governance in India

Abstract

Equity, equality and inclusivity have been themes of abiding interest to philosophers, politicians, social reformers and activists alike. In the modern Indian context of political and social reformation spearheaded by Gandhi during the first half of the twentieth century, the imperatives of mainstreaming women in public and private spheres of activity was a theme that engaged many scholars and statesmen and attracted his serious concern. Not giving women their due share of responsibility and authority was to him as much a case calling for greater inclusivity as was the exclusion of vast proportions of the population from equal opportunities based on other legacy prejudices of caste, creed, and so on. Despite remarkable progress in many other spheres, countries in general are still way behind in rectifying the gender inequalities that still persist. This article discusses, within the broader framework of equality and inclusivity, the theme of women in corporate governance with particular reference to India. Corporate boards, key instruments in governing corporations, are still too thinly populated with women directors; there is comparatively little representation of women in positions of influence and importance within the bureaucracy associated with corporate legislation and market regulation; active involvement of women in policy-making legislative bodies like the parliament and its committees as well as in the ministerial ranks in post-independent India is minimal. This situation calls for speedy correction in developing countries like India, which can arguably benefit most from such inclusion.

Does Gender Diversity on Indian Boards Impede IPO Underpricing?

“…Much of the research on women participation in Indian boards has been limited to exploring reasons of their low participation or the obstacles that hinder the progress of women to managerial positions, while some have focused on the pattern of women directors in Indian corporate boards (Balasubramanian & Ramaswamy, 2012a, 2012b; Srinivasan & Pallathitta, 2013). Picking up the line of thread from the work of Balasubramanian (2013) who left open the delicate issue of benefits of gender diversity on Indian boards in the light of family-controlled business houses, the current study aims to unravel the possible nuance of underpricing of firms showing women on board seats at the time of IPO.…”

Does Corporate Governance Influence Voluntary Disclosure? Evidence from India

“…Regarding RD, 33% of the sample companies have CEO who is also the chairman of the board. GD indicates a mean of 11.88 percent whereas it was 5.3 percent in 2009(Balasubramanian, 2013), suggesting an upward trend in participation of women on corporate board. In terms of OC, the average percentage of shares owned by majority shareholders is 91.81 percent indicating that sample firms have highly concentrated ownership structure.…”

Does corporate governance influence firm performance? Evidence from India

“…The mean value of RD indicates that 32 percent of sample firms have one person occupying both positions implying that the majority of sample firms (68 percent) have voluntarily separated the role of CEO and chairman. GD shows a mean of 12.41 percent while it was 5.3 percent in 2009(Balasubramanian, 2013) indicating an enhanced participation of women on a corporate board. On average 84.51 percent of audit committees are occupied by INDs which is also consistent with SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015.…”