EMERGING GROWTH TREND OF WOMEN IN CORPORATE SECTOR

“To awaken people, it is the woman who must be awakened. Once she is on the move, the
family moves, the village moves and the nation moves”
-Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru
Corporate sector comprises of companies, i.e., private sector companies, public sector companies

and multinational companies, financial institutions, e.g., commercial banks, producer boards,

State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) and local government organizations, for e.g. Barauni refinery in

Bihar etc.

Corporate Sector is expanding its horizons rapidly. Some sectors that were earlier not considered

as a part of corporate world, are now included in the corporate sector. In a few instances, for

example, a few years back, real estate was not considered as a part of corporate. With change in

trend and huge growth in this sector, it is imperative to consider it as a part of the corporate

world now.

Corporate sector has witnessed tremendous growth and changing trends in the last few decades.

Men and women are thriving hard to prove their excellence and reaching at the top of corporate

ladder. Industrialization has resulted in phenomenal growth and expansion of the corporate

sector. There is a significant growth in the number of women entering in the corporate world and

they are proving themselves to be capable leaders in every field. Today, it is not uncommon to

find women in most industries; in fact, they even occupy top positions in that. They are no longer

restricted to stereotyped professions. Deftly handling even the toughest of jobs, ranging from

bus-conductors to astronauts, women have shown that they indeed are not the typecast weaker

sex. Indeed, more and more women are emerging as CEOs and VPs of small to large

multinational corporations. Such women are successful primarily because of their strong

leadership skills, knowledge and their passion and dedication.

Some of the leading examples of women who have made it possible to the top of the ladder of

the Corporate world includes Indra Nooyi, PepsiCo Chairman and CEO, Dr. Kiran Mazumdar
Shaw, CEO, Biocon who became the wealthiest Indian woman after the initial public offering of

her company, Vidya Mohan Chhabria, chairperson of the $2 billion Jumbo Group, and Naina Lal

Kidwai, vice chairperson and managing director of HSBC Securities and Capital markets. There

are several others like Sulaijja Firodia Motwani, Joint Managing Director, Kinectic Engineering

and MD Kinetic Finance and Mallika Srinivasan who figure prominently in the automotive

industry, Ms. Anuradha Desai, Chairperson, Venkateshwara Hatcheries which is Second largest

company producer of eggs in the world, Ms. Ritu Kumar, the diva of Indian Fashion while there

are many other women who are successfully managing family run businesses. There are few

more prominent figures that became an idol for generations to follow which include Sudha

Murthy, Arundhati Roy and Barkha Dutt et al.

The last few decades have witnessed a sea change in the corporate sector with, at first, women

taking the initiative to join the workforce and then the shift in the temperament of the working

women, i.e., not choosing to opt for full-time work outside home. Many women are moving

ahead and making their marks in the professional and public sphere.

Priyanka Sinha