Women Directors – A phase of board diversity
Indian constitution enshrines with the basic rule that there should not be inequality. Humans fail to treat other humans at par and most of all there continues a situation that eradication of such gender inequality is highly unavoidable in a country like India. However, the Indian constitution enshrines with provisions which deal with the importance placed for women in workplaces too. And that women do have equal means of livelihood as compared to that of men. Other recognition includes provision for equal pay for equal work carried out by a woman, maternity relief etc. 1
The major reason behind Indian women drop out in employment sector during entry and mid management is family as such i.e. the commitment of marriage and children.
In the last two years there has been an increased interest in board diversity by mandatory appointment of Women Director in Indian companies. The requirement of women director is prescribed in Rule 3 of Companies (Appointment & Qualification of Directors) Rules, 2014 under the Companies Act, 2013.
Comparative Analysis- Norway Vs. India
Many fortune 500 companies show a drastic change in the increase in their profits and their further expansion of their business. More women on board does not only mean the mode to attract sales and production but also creates some public image. It does increase financial return as well rather than mere media attention. In terms financial returns means that the return on equity (ROE) increases. 2. The following gives you the comparison between Norway and India in terms of their board Composition
| Country | Women in % | Men in% | Rank | Year of enactment of woman quota on boards | Type of quota |
| Norway | 35.5 | 64.5 | 1 | 2003 | Legislative |
| India | 9.5 | 90.5 | 18 | 2013 | Legislative |
According to Catalyst census 3 Norway ranks number 1 in employing more women directors on board. The reason behind their ranking is due to the composition in their Companies Act. For example- Norwegian Public Limited Liability Act, the requirement regarding the representation of both sexes on the board shall be equal and such requirement shall correspondingly apply for election of deputy members of the Board of Directors. In India, although the enactment of woman quota on boards is of nascent stage, the requirement to have woman director on the board has been made mandatory. At the inception stage the percentage of woman on boards seems quiet decent as compared to countries like Portugal or Japan. 4 where the involvement in the concept of board diversity is poor.
Legal compliance
Section 149 of the Companies Act 2013 deals with woman director. As prescribed in Rule 3 of Companies (Appointment & Qualification of Directors) Rules, 2014 and also Regulation 17 of SEBI (Listing obligations & Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, the companies shall have at least one-woman director.
- In every listed company and every other public company having a paid up share capital of one hundred crore rupees or more or turnover of three hundred crore rupees or more.
- In case if there is any vacancy in the post of women director, such vacancy has to be filled as early as possible and it should not be later than the next immediate board meeting or after three months from the date of the post being vacant, i.e. whichever is later.
Conclusion
Psychologically, it can be stated that when women are employed in a company there seems to be lot of positive energy in the form of having more focus as well as diversity in the work to explore more in the work place. 5
He holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Corporate Secretaryship and a Degree in Law. He is a Fellow member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India and an Associate Member of the Corporate Governance Institute, UK and Ireland. He has also completed a program from ISB on ‘Value Creation through Mergers and Acquisitions.
Mr P Muthusamy is an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer with an outstanding career of 30+ years of experience and expertise in all niche areas of Indirect Taxes covering a wide spectrum including GST, Customs, GATT Valuation, Central Excise and Foreign Trade.
During his judicial role, he heard and decided a large number of cases, including some of the most sensitive, complicated, and high-stake matters on insolvency and bankruptcy, including many cases on resolution plans, shareholder disputes and Schemes of Amalgamation, De-mergers, restructuring etc.,
Ms. Sarah Abraham has been enrolled with the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu since 1998. Her areas of practice include Shareholder Disputes, Corporate Compliances, Mergers and Acquisitions, Private Equity/ Venture Capital Agreements and allied disputes, Information Technology Contracts, Intellectual Property, General Commercial Agreements, Litigation, Arbitration and Mediation.
A K Mylsamy is the Founder, Managing Partner and the anchor of the firm. He holds a Degree in law and a Degree in Literature. He is enrolled with the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu.
M Subathra holds a Degree in law and a Master’s Degree in International Business Law from the University of Manchester, United Kingdom. She is enrolled with the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu.
Mr. K Rajendran is a former Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer with a distinguished service of 35 years in the Indirect Taxation Department with rich experience and expertise in the fields of Customs, Central Excise, Service Tax and GST. He possesses Master’s Degree in English literature. Prior to joining the Department, he served for the All India Radio, Coimbatore for a period of about 4 years.
An MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, and an M.Sc. in Tourism Management from the Scottish Hotel School, UK, Ashok Anantram was one fo the earliest IIM graduates to enter the Indian hospitality industry. He joined India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) in 1970 and after a brief stint proceeded to the UK on a scholarship. On his return to India, he joined ITC Hotels Limited in 1975. Over the 30 years in this Organisation, he held senior leadership positions in Sales & Marketing and was its Vice President – Sales & Marketing. He was closely involved in decision making at the corporate level and saw the chain grow from a single hotel in 1975 to a very large multi-brand professional hospitality group.
Mani holds a Bachelor Degree in Science and P.G. Diploma in Journalism and Public Relations. He has a rich and varied experience of over 4 decades in Banking, Finance, Hospitality and freelance Journalism. He began his career with Andhra Bank and had the benefit of several training programs in Banking.
Mr. Kailash Chandra Kala joined the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance as ‘Customs Appraiser’ at Mumbai in the year 1993.
S Ramanujam, is a Chartered Accountant with over 40 years of experience and specialization in areas of Corporate Tax, Mergers or Demergers, Restructuring and Acquisitions. He worked as the Executive Vice-President, Group Taxation of the UB Group, Bangalore.
K K Balu holds a degree in B.A and B.L and is a Corporate Lawyer having over 50 years of Legal, Teaching and Judicial experience.
Justice M. Jaichandren hails from an illustrious family of lawyers, academics and politicians. Justice Jaichandren majored in criminology and then qualified as a lawyer by securing a gold medal. He successfully practiced in the Madras High Court and appeared in several civil, criminal, consumer, labour, administrative and debt recovery tribunals. He held office as an Advocate for the Government (Writs Side) in Chennai and was on the panel of several government organizations as senior counsel. His true passion lay in practicing Constitutional laws with focus on writs in the Madras High Court. He was appointed Judge, High Court of Madras in December 2005 and retired in February 2017.
S Balasubramanian is a Commerce and Law Graduate. He is a member of the Delhi Bar Council, an associate Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, the Institute of Company Secretaries of India and Management Accountants of India.